Medicaid system is in poor health, too
Wednesday, July 2, 2003
It will come as no surprise that poor health of those without health insurance costs our nation an estimated $130 billion annually. This illustrates to me a couple of points. First, we indeed need an overhaul of the health care delivery system in this nation in the worst way. Congress has wrestled with this issue for what seems a lifetime. And yet an estimated 41 million Americans lack health insurance. But the report also illustrates the growing problem of providing health care to those without insurance. If medical care is free, millions upon millions abuse the program and burden the health care delivery system. That, to me, is the greatest problem.