“Fair Pricing and Access for The Uninsured ”




Affordable Health Care for the nations 47 million uninsured is at an alarming level. The most critical uninsured group is the Hispanic/Latino community with an estimated 32% of its population being uninsured.

Factors that contribute to poor health outcomes include language and cultural barriers, lack of access to preventive care, and lack of affordable health insurance. Florida is among the seven states with the greatest concentrations of Hispanics.

The increasing prevalence of workers in "nonstandard" jobs--that is, those in part-time, temporary, or contract positions--and the decline in access to employer-provided health insurance is also a factor.

The working poor are those that don't qualify for government programs and charity care because of their income but they don't make enough to pay for high insurance premiums. They have fallen through the cracks resulting in potentially high out-of-pocket medical costs.

When the uninsured go to a hospital they get charged Full-Sticker prices which is in the range of 4 or 5 times more than what an insurance company pays for the same services. In most instances medical clinics and physicians will not treat the uninsured unless they buy in to a monthly medical plan.

TYPICAL EXAMPLE:

In a recent interview, Victor, who works as a cashier for minimum wage developed significant sinus discomfort. He went to a local hospital because he's uninsured. After a few hours he was discharged and told to take medication. Victor was billed nearly 7 thousand dollars--that is, full sticker price for being uninsured. If he would have gone to a clinic he would have been charged about $180.00 dollars for the same services-- medication included.

How To Help the Uninsured Community:
Consejo de Latinos Unidos, a national non-profit advocacy organization which educates, aids, and assists minorities. Consejo is one of the nations leading advocate for the uninsured www.consejohelp.org

As a religious community it is important to be pro-active on social issues for the benefit of our society. We can all take part in this important effort.

I encourage our community to use its network capacity. This is a simple effort. Telling people where help is available can be a meaningful contribution.

Consejo also helps uninsured that are having collection and legal problems with hospitals nationwide. Call 800-474-7576 or contact kb@consejohelp.org

Step forward and help someone--we can make a difference!

 

Oba Ernesto Pichardo
olukumi@hotmail.com

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