Overview
Every year, Americans pay more and more but get less and less when it comes to health care.
Spiraling health care costs have driven the average
job-based family insurance plan to more than $12,000 a year, and that price tag is
expected to double by 2016.
America’s health care system is structured for drug industry,
insurance company, and medical specialty profits, not better health
outcomes for you.
As the new Congress and Administration take up health reform, MASSPIRG's office in Washington, D.C., U.S.
PIRG is fighting for affordable health care that every family can
depend on by:
• Stopping insurance companies from discriminating against people with pre-existing conditions.
• Trimming costly red tape and overhead through simplified insurance
forms, information technology and insurer-efficiency standards.
• Rewarding personalized care from your provider and prevention, not just endless tests, procedures and emergency room visits.
• Giving every patient and doctor the most up-to-date information on which treatments and medicines work best.
• Making insurance plans compete for your business, by letting
Americans choose the care that’s right for them: keep the coverage they
have, choose another private insurance plan, or select a quality public
health insurance option.
The costs of inaction to the public would be simply overwhelming. If Massachusetts residents do not win reforms that squeeze out our system's costly inefficiencies, the full cost of premiums will climb to $26,069 for family and $8,845 for individual employer-sponsored insurance by 2016. With these projected increases, the cost of a family health insurance policy will be equal to 41.2% of median household income.
