The number of Uninsured continue to soar!

Attached you find a link http://www.miamiherald.com/2011/09/30/2432980/uninsured-situation-worsens-in.html to an excellent article article by John Dorschner published in today's Miami Herald titled " More in S.Florida going uninsured" focusing on the soaring numbers of uninsured even in middle-class suburbs." The facts are indeed stunning and sobering:

"The data shows that almost a third — 31.2 percent — of adults aged 18 to 64 in the Kendall area, a middle-class suburb, were uninsured in 2010, up from 19.6 percent in 2008.
Those grim numbers reflect South Florida’s recent economic struggles that have driven up unemployment and forced many small employers to drop insurance coverage, said Steven Ullmann, a health policy expert at the University of Miami. The figures are part of a larger trend of growing numbers of uninsured and shrinking alternatives for the poor throughout Miami-Dade and Broward counties."

"The Kendall uninsured numbers — 50 percent higher than national figure for the same 18-to-64 age group — are “a reflection of everything the economy has been through,” Ullmann said. “It’s becoming an issue nationwide, but it’s reflected even more so in our local economy.”

"The Census data, released last month, shows 31.8 percent of Miami-Dade’s residents of all ages were uninsured in 2010. In Broward, it was 24 percent. In Monroe County, 32 percent — compared with a national average of 16.3 percent."

"A stunning 57 percent of Hialeah residents in that age group were uninsured in 2010, up from 53 percent in 2008.
In the City of Miami, 50.4 percent of 18-to-64-year-olds were uninsured, compared to 45.8 percent in 2008. In Deerfield Beach, 48.5 percent were uninsured, compared to 33.6 percent in 2008. In Miami Gardens, it was 39.9 percent, compared to 35.2 percent in 2008, while Miami Beach registered very little change, with 35 percent, compared to 35.8 percent in 2008. Weston continues to be the place in South Florida with the lowest rate of uninsured residents in the 18-to-64 age group, with 17.9 percent, compared to 13.8 percent in 2008."

The poor are also getting squeezed, says Ullmann. Many of them can qualify for Medicaid, the state-federal program for the poor, but Ullmann notes that as the state’s budget shrinks, legislators have been trying to reduce the program by lowering payments and forcing patients into health maintenance organizations."

Unfortunately, these numbers are not going to change and may even worsen. Many of those who are lucky enough to find a job are NOT offered health insurance because health insurance premiums for employer-provided health insurance jumped 8-9 percent in 2011, passing $15000 for family coverage!
As a result more people seek health care in emergency rooms driving up the costs even further, because those with insurance are paying the share for those who don't, or cannot, pay. Meanwhile, politicians are still engaged in trench warfare to fight off "Obamacare."
We must face reality and find solutions to this problem. One of them would be a countywide effort to create a network of primary care clinics offering a Patient-Centered Medical Home (PCMH) coordinating medical care. Such a network could be financed by grants and federal subsidies. The costs of such care would be substantially lower compared to the emergency room services provided. For example, one of my asthma patients has utilized the emergency room 2-4 times per month for treatment and medication refills. He is now enrolled in a chronic disease management program and has used the ER only once in two years.
I hope that common sense will prevail. Otherwise, we are going to face a very bleak future.
Yours
Bernd