Our Nation's Health Care Crisis

Our Nation's Health Care Crisis

May 4, 2005

This week is Cover the Uninsured Week, and it comes at a time when the nation’s health care system is in crisis. According to the latest figures, 45 million Americans have no health insurance. That’s 5 million more than there were in 2000. This crisis is affecting more than the uninsured – American workers and businesses are also suffering. Companies like General Motors are reporting major loses due to the increasing costs of providing health care to their employees and are shifting more of their health care costs onto workers as a result. President Bush has had four years to address this growing problem, and has instead focused his energies on privatizing Social Security and slashing Medicaid, while giving more tax cuts to the highest income earners.

• The current health care system is broken and inefficient. America spends more per person on health care than any other country, yet 45 million Americans lack health insurance and many more don’t receive the essential care they need when they need it. And the costs of non-emergency ER visits by the uninsured get passed along to all taxpayers.
  
  
• Working Americans and business owners are also feeling the pain. Twenty million working Americans do not have health insurance, and businesses are struggling to meet their health care costs. They are increasingly passing the costs of health insurance on to their employees to help cut their expenses.
  
  
• We can do better. Unlike the Bush administration and congressional leaders, the Center for American Progress has developed a real plan to expand coverage to everyone, raise health care quality and lower health care costs for everyone, and responsibly finance these crucial investments. Ensuring affordable, quality health care is this generation's great challenge. With conviction and persistence, armed with a practical, fair and responsible plan, this worthy goal can be achieved.

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