O'Reilly Cites Emergency Care To Dismiss Concerns About Uninsured Americans

O'Reilly: “Good Grief! Hospitals Are Mandated To Treat Uninsured.” Responding to Rep. Sheila Jackson Lee's concerns about the possibility of uninsured Americans dying if health care reform is repealed, Fox News host Bill O'Reilly said:

Good grief! Hospitals are mandated to treat uninsured people, even if they're in the country illegally. Also the feds already subsidize medical insurance for the poor. [Fox News, The O'Reilly Factor, 1/19/11]

Paying For Uninsured Care Increases Insurance Premiums, Burdens Government Budgets

Uncompensated Care Leads To Higher Premiums For Insured. A study by Families USA found that:

Because of the high cost of health care, uninsured people are less likely to get the care that they need when they need it, and they are more likely to delay seeking care for as long as possible. When a health problem becomes so serious that treatment can no longer be delayed, the uninsured seek care. Then, they struggle to pay as much of their bills as they can: In 2008, the uninsured paid an average of 37 percent of the cost of care that they received out of their own pockets. However, they cannot usually afford to pay the whole bill on their own, and a portion goes unpaid (this is called “uncompensated care”). To cover the cost of this uncompensated care, health care providers charge higher rates when insured people receive care, and these increases are passed on to those who have insurance in the form of higher premiums, known as a “hidden health tax.” In 2008, for example, this “hidden health tax” increased premiums for family health coverage by an average of $1,017, and, for single individuals, by $368.

If nothing is done to reduce the number of uninsured and the uncompensated care that is provided to them, premiums will continue their rapid ascent, and evermore people will be priced out of coverage. This vicious circle can be stopped, and the price of coverage can be stabilized--but only if we expand coverage.

As coverage is expanded under the House bill, the amount of uncompensated care for the uninsured will fall, and doctors and hospitals will no longer have to pass on the cost of this care to insurers. Insurers, in turn, should then be in a position to slow the rate of increase in the premiums they charge. [Families USA, July 2009]

Shifting Costs Of Uninsured Strains State And Local Government Budgets. The Kaiser Commission on Medicaid and the Uninsured reported:

More uninsured puts pressure on state budgets because states often finance uncompensated care at local hospitals and clinics. Uncompensated care is also financed by Medicaid and Medicare disproportionate share hospital payments, some indirect graduate medical education payments, state and local appropriations, and a variety of other programs such as the Veterans Administration, the Indian Health Service and Community Health Centers. There is also some “shifting” of costs to the privately insured. Most of these revenue streams are not likely to increase in the current environment in response to a larger uninsured population, thus most of these costs that we project are likely to borne by providers, states and or their localities or the uninsured will have less access to care. At a 7 percent unemployment rate, the increased costs of funding additional uncompensated care costs at current levels would be $3.2 billion and $7.2 billion at 10 percent unemployment. [Kaiser Family Foundation, January 2009]

Uncompensated Care Estimated To Have Cost Federal, State, And Local Governments $42.9 Billion In 2008. The Kaiser Family Foundation also reported that the primary source of funding for uncompensated care of the uninsured is federal and state governments:

Federal and state government dollars are the primary source of funding for uncompensated care of the uninsured.

Combining federal, state, and local funding streams, $42.9 billion dollars will be used for uncompensated care for the uninsured in 2008 - which will cover at least 75% of the total uncompensated care amount this year.

Federal dollars, largely flowing through the Medicare and Medicaid programs, account for 60% of these government dollars.

Two-thirds of government spending for uncompensated care goes to hospitals--paying for nearly $29 billion of the $35 billion they will incur. [Kaiser Family Foundation, August 2008]

Uninsured Have Higher Mortality Rates Than Insured

Study Found Lack Of Insurance Was A Factor In Almost 45,000 Deaths Each Year. A study entitled “Health Insurance and Mortality in US Adults” concluded that those without insurance had a higher mortality rate than those with insurance. By applying that ratio to 2005 census data, the study concluded that lack of insurance was a factor in almost 45,000 deaths every year. The report concluded that "[u]ninsurance is associated with mortality. The strength of that association appears similar to that from a study that evaluated data from the mid-1980s, despite changes in medical therapeutics and the demography of the uninsured since that time." [American Journal of Public Health, Vol 99, No. 12, December 2009, via Media Matters]