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Steps to cut
U.S. uninsured can be taken now--CEOs
SOURCE:
Michael Connor, Reuters; February 15, 2008.
FORT LAUDERDALE, Fla., Feb
15 (Reuters) - America's growing ranks of 47 million people
without medical insurance could be thinned dramatically by
tapping health programs already operating, leading health
executives said on Friday.
With health care reform a
dominant issue in the U.S. presidential race, the chief
executives of big health insurers Aetna Inc (AET.N: Quote,
Profile, Research, Stock Buzz) and WellPoint Inc (WLP.N:
Quote, Profile, Research, Stock Buzz) said the candidates
had so far provided insufficient details about their
proposals for clear judgments to be made.
But the executives said
much can be done now with existing programs to reduce the
number of Americans without health insurance coverage.
"Twenty percent of the
uninsured are actually eligible today for Medicaid and the
state children's health program. They simply aren't
enrolled," Aetna CEO Ron Williams said in an interview at a
meeting of the Business Council group of corporate leaders.
Aetna, the No. 3 health
insurer, urges local community leaders and officials to
identify and bring more of the eligible uninsured into the
Medicaid programs aimed at poor people, Williams said.
"If we did a better job at
that, we could reduce the uninsured by 20 percent," Williams
said.
College students account
for 10 percent of the 47 million and could be easily and
relatively cheaply enrolled for health care insurance,
Williams said.
"States like Massachusetts,
for example, actually have done a good job of covering
them," Williams said. "They have what's called a hard
waiver, meaning that, when you enroll in college, you either
have to demonstrate you have coverage or purchase coverage
as part of the academic experience."
Angela Braly, president and
chief executive at WellPoint, the No. 1 U.S. health insurer
by membership, said in an interview that her company wanted
state programs aimed at children and low-income families to
be widely expanded.
WellPoint, whose health
networks operate in many states under the Blue Cross and
Blue Shield names, has forecast that broadening those
programs could cut the uninsured by 25 million if all 50
states acted.
"All children should be
covered," Braly added.
The company also advocates
public-private partnerships that could help subsidize
insurance costs for low-income individuals now ineligible
for government programs.
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