I just caught Rep. Jan Schakowsky on the Campaign for America's Future
health care panel in Denver. It was a timely discussion considering the release this week of new census
bureau data on health insurance. On it's face, the numbers look good:
45.7 million people did not have health insurance in 2007, a decrease
from the 2006 level of 47 million. But the devil is in the details.
Paul Krugman says these 2007 numbers don't take into effect skyrocketing unemployment, a major reason Americans lose their insurance. And The New Republic's Jonathan Cohn says it's Uncle Sam who is propping up the figures:
But before anybody gets the idea that we no longer need health care reform, take a closer look at the numbers. Enrollment in private insurance continued to decline in percentage terms, mostly because the percentage of people with employer-sponsored coverage fell from 59.7 to 59.3. The reason the overall numbers look good is rising enrollment in public insurance programs, particularly Medicaid.
All of this is to say that health care is still a major crisis in America. As a stinging reminder, Schakowsky pointed out that at least one American would die of what she calls "uninsured-itis" while the hour-long panel was underway. To push for reform, Schakowsky became one of the first legislators to sign the "Which Side Are You On?" petition, an effort by Health Care for America Now to demand that members of Congress enact universal health care next year. Supporters can sign a companion petition here.
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