Healing an ailing nation

By Tony Staley
Compass Editor

The need to provide affordable health insurance coverage for all Americans remains a growing problem.

There are nearly 46 million uninsured Americans, said representatives of the U.S. bishops' Committee on Domestic Policy and the Catholic Health Association in a statement for the fourth annual Cover the Uninsured Week, May 1-7. Sponsors of the week include the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation, the AFL-CIO, AARP, U.S. Chamber of Commerce and the American Hospital Association.

Two reports released last month gave a glimpse into the problem. "Gaps in Health Insurance: An All-American Problem," by the New York-based Commonwealth Fund, showed that 41% of working-age Americans with annual incomes of $20,000 to $40,000 were uninsured for at least part of 2005, compared to 28% in 2001. Two-thirds of those lacking health insurance live in families where at least one member works full time.

"If we don't act soon to expand coverage to the uninsured, the health of the U.S. population, the productivity of our workforce and our economy are at risk," warned Karen Davis, Commonwealth Fund president and a co-author of the report.

A report from the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation found that one in six adults, ages 50-64 - 7 million people - have no health insurance and are less likely to receive recommended cancer screenings. They are nearly twice as likely to report being in "poor" or "fair" health than those with health insurance.

Beyond economic concerns, "Catholic teaching sees access to health care as essential to the welfare of human beings," Kathleen Curran, of the U.S. bishops' Department of Social Development and World Peace, told Catholic News Service.

It is a scandal that this wealthy, can-do nation can't figure out how to provide health insurance for all citizens.