Congress and the President are working to enact health care reform legislation that protects what works about health care and fixes what is broken. Georgians know that inaction is not an option. Sky-rocketing health care costs are hurting families, forcing businesses to cut or drop health benefits, and straining state budgets. Millions are paying more for less. Families and businesses in Georgia deserve better.
GEORGIANS CAN’T AFFORD THE STATUS QUO
Roughly 5.7 million people in Georgia get health insurance on the job, where family premiums average $12,488, about the annual earning of a full-time minimum wage job.
Since 2000 alone, average family premiums have increased by 88 percent in Georgia.
Household budgets are strained by high costs: 27 percent of middle-income Georgia families spend more than 10 percent of their income on health care.
High costs block access to care: 16 percent of people in Georgia report not visiting a doctor due to high costs.
Georgia businesses and families shoulder a hidden health tax of roughly $900 per year on premiums as a direct result of subsidizing the costs of the uninsured.
AFFORDABLE HEALTH COVERAGE IS INCREASINGLY OUT OF REACH IN GEORGIA
18 percent of people in Georgia are uninsured, and 70 percent of them are in families with at least one full-time worker.
The percent of Georgians with employer coverage is declining: from 65 to 60 percent between 2000 and 2007.
Much of the decline is among workers in small businesses. While small businesses make up 73 percent of Georgia businesses, only 34 percent of them offered health coverage benefits in 2006 -- down 5 percent since 2000.
Choice of health insurance is limited in Georgia. WellPoint Inc. (BCBS) alone constitutes 61 percent of the health insurance market share in Georgia, with the top two insurance providers accounting for 69 percent.
Choice is even more limited for people with pre-existing conditions. In Georgia, premiums can vary based on demographic factors and health status, and coverage can exclude pre-existing conditions or even be denied completely in some cases.
GEORGIANS NEED HIGHER QUALITY, GREATER VALUE, AND MORE PREVENTATIVE CARE
The overall quality of care in Georgia is rated as “Weak.”
Preventative measures that could keep Georgians healthier and out of the hospital are deficient, leading to problems across the age spectrum:
21 percent of children in Georgia are obese.
17 percent of women over the age of 50 in Georgia have not received a mammogram in the past two years.
38 percent of men over the age of 50 in Georgia have never had a colorectal cancer screening.
67 percent of adults over the age of 65 in Georgia have received a flu vaccine in the past year.
The need for reform in Georgia and across the country is clear. Georgia families simply can’t afford the status quo and deserve better. President Obama is committed to working with Congress to pass health reform this year that reduces costs for families, businesses and government; protects people’s choice of doctors, hospitals and health plans; and assures affordable, quality health care for all Americans.