Sharply rising costs of therapy, especially prescription drugs, medical devices, and clinical procedures have moved health care near the top of the political agenda for the next round of elections. A growing, $3 trillion health care industry now consumes more than 18 percent of our Gross Domestic Product.
In 2013, before major provisions of the Affordable Care Act (ACA) took effect, 44 million Americans lacked health insurance. That number fell to 28.5 million by 2017, or 8.8 percent of the population. Expansion of Medicaid programs in 36 states and the District of Columbia accounts for most of the decrease in numbers of uninsured. The number of uninsured persons climbed by almost 1 million in 2018 because of congressional cutbacks in the ACA.
Clif CleavelandUninsured Americans are typically from poor families in which at least one person is employed. African-Americans (10.6 percent uninsured) and Hispanic Americans (16 percent uninsured) are over-represented in the ranks of the uninsured.
Of the insured, more than 67 percent have private health insurance – 58 percent via employer health plans, the remainder by direct purchase of coverage. Government plans, which include Medicare, Medicaid and military/VA cover almost the remainder.
Concerned by the plight of uninsured residents and the rising costs of care, the Massachusetts legislature in 2006 crafted a comprehensive, health care plan (MHP). Gov. Mitt Romney vetoed six provisions of the plan, but the vetoes were subsequently overridden by the legislature. The plan was later amended to accommodate requirements of the ACA. The ACA used many elements of MHP in its design.