Apr

22

Helping the uninsured, a message from our president

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This week, April 23rd-29th, is Cover the Uninsured Week (CTUW) sponsored by the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation. CTUW is a non-partisan campaign to raise the profile of the growing problem of the uninsured. Like many other DuPage County Physicians and hospitals, we provide care for the uninsured through government programs and a public-private partnership called Access DuPage. However, as the number of uninsured people in our communities continues to grow, it becomes increasingly difficult to meet their health care needs. In DuPage County alone, the number of uninsured is estimated to be as many as 63,000 people. Many of the uninsured are working poor who do not receive health care coverage through their job or can not afford the premium payments for job-related health care coverage.

When people do not have health insurance they frequently put off getting medical attention until they are much sicker and require more costly emergent treatment. And although the health care problems created by this scenario are considerable, this is not just a health care issue. The consequences to our society as a whole are immense, including increasing rates of personal bankruptcy and lost worker productivity.

The enormity of resolving the uninsured problem can seem overwhelming. It is tempting to put off personal responsibility when faced with such a large problem, after all, what can one person do? However as Sir Francis Bacon said, “Knowledge is power” and so in honor of CTUW, we are asking that each person take some action to better educate themselves about the uninsured problem. Listed below are some ways to learn more about this issue.

Cover the Uninsured website:
http://covertheuninsured.org
A Profile of the Working Poor in DuPage County:
http://www.glen-ellyn.com/dupagefed/workingpoor.pdf
The Uninsured: A Primer:
http://www.kff.org
Hidden Costs, Value Lost:
http://www.iom.edu
Seeing Red:Americans Driven into Debt by Medical Bills:
http://www.cmwf.org

Throughout the coming weeks and months there will certainly be more discussion and debate about solutions to covering the uninsured. We are confident that knowledgeable citizens can work together to find a solution that provides health care access for everyone.

Sincerely,

Mark Daniels, MD, President of DuPage Medical Group
Brian O’Leary, MD, Vice-President of DuPage Medical Group