Are State Solutions Practical? Thoughts on Hurricanes and Health Reform
07/25/08 | Comment (0)
Lisa Codisopti, Senior Advisor at the National Women's Law Center, lays out the case for a national public health insurance plan, a plan that we here at Health Care for America Now feel is crucial to solving our health care crisis:
Indeed, states have been at the forefront of health reform since a federal solution has been remarkably absent. But, as I've often said, state efforts are neither big enough nor fast enough to meet the challenges of health reform. They will, for instance, inevitably hit one major roadblock—fluctuating state budgets. It is clear that we need federal action to fix our health care system.
A glimpse at the areas hardest hit by Katrina are a great illustration of this need. Yesterday I attended a presentation on the community health centers in the area surrounding New Orleans. These public clinics—like so many around the country—serve as a vital health safety net by providing critical health services to the uninsured. Pre-Katrina, the clinics served a population with an uninsured rate of about 20 percent; in the months following the hurricane, this rate practically doubled, putting a major strain on an already weak safety net. Louisiana is doing the best it can to rebuild the broken health care system in the area around New Orleans, but there are limits to how much one state can reasonably accomplish. Federal initiatives to expand coverage could change the picture entirely; imagine how different things could be for those impacted by Katrina if they didn't have to worry about losing their health care because they had to leave the area or find another job. Frankly, imagine if any one of us didn't have to worry about losing health care for any number of reasons that have nothing to do with a hurricane (such widowhood, divorce, or becoming self-employed)?
