America spends $3.3 trillion on health care, or more than $10,000 per person, which is twice as much as any other industrialized country. Yet nearly 30 million Americans, or 10% of the population, are uninsured. If the Affordable Care Act unravels in the near term, the number of insured could creep back up to 50 million, the level in 2009. These numbers exclude the millions more who are underinsured — people with high deductibles, high copays, and benefit caps that leave them very exposed if they fall seriously ill and are hospitalized.
How One Nonprofit Is Expanding Health Care for the Uninsured
America spends $3.3 trillion on health care, or more than $10,000 per person, which is twice as much as any other industrialized country. Yet nearly 30 million Americans, or 10% of the population, are uninsured. These numbers exclude the millions more who are underinsured — people with high deductibles, high copays, and benefit caps that leave them very exposed if they fall seriously ill and are hospitalized. How can the United States drive down costs so that the margins from serving insured patients pays for serving all the uninsured and underinsured? Ascension, the largest nonprofit health system in the United States, offers an inspiring example. The nonprofit’s cost-saving strategies have allowed it to waive insurance deductibles and unpaid bills at all of its hospitals for patients earning less than 250% of the poverty level.