Press Release
Embargoed until: October 7, 2004
For more information: Rand Wilson, 617 989-8045, rand@jwj.org
New “Waste Not, Want Not” report:
Study shows $245 billion savings from cutting insurance and drug industry waste could fund health care for all
Grassroots groups will release 15 state reports in 21 cities
WASHINGTON, DC – Jobs with Justice will release a report on Oct. 7 showing that approximately $245 billion is wasted on private insurance red tape and protecting drug company super-profits each year. The study concludes that by providing insurance more efficiently and making drug companies sell in a more competitive market, the savings could be used to provide secure, affordable health care for all.
The report, Waste Not, Want Not: How Eliminating Insurance and pharmaceutical Industry Waste Could Fund Health Care For All will also be released by local Jobs with Justice coalitions or other organizations in CA, FL, GA, IN, KY, MA, MN, NC, NY, OH, PA, RI, TN, TX, and VT. Local releases will have state-specific versions of the report with data showing that in every state the savings from waste is enough to cover all of the uninsured.
Waste Not, Want Not focuses on how three reforms to the current health care system could prevent billions of dollars in waste and yield enough savings to guarantee secure and affordable health care for all. Specifically:
* The fragmented system of nearly 1,300 private health insurance companies creates unnecessary red tape and administrative waste. The national Medicare program has a proven track record of providing insurance at slightly less than one-tenth the cost of private plans. Adopting Medicare’s standard of efficiency and improving and expanding it to cover everyone, would save more than $94 billion on health care every year.
* Although the federal government and other public sources already pay half the cost of research and development, drug companies receive long term patent protections that discourage competition and guarantee super profits. If the federal government paid for all of the R&D, it could eliminate the patent protections, encourage competition and generic drugs, and save $140 billion in health care costs every year.
* The Bush Administration’s recently enacted Medicare prescription drug bill gave additional subsidies for private insurers because they can’t compete with the efficiency of Medicare. Reversing these and other devastating changes to Medicare could save $83.6 billion (or $11 billion a year) over the next eight years.
Together, these savings would be more than enough to provide insurance coverage for all of the 81.8 million people who went without health insurance for all or part of last year.
“Americans are paying more for health care and getting less every year. Waste Not, Want Not is proof that we are not just spending more than any other country, we are wasting more,” said Rep. Jan Schakowsky (D-IL). “Instead of throwing away precious health care dollars on bureaucracy, fragmentation and excessive profits, we could be providing high quality medical care for all.”
“So many politicians say they support the concept of health care for all, but then hide behind the question of how a universal plan would be financed,” said Fred Azcarate, director of Jobs with Justice. “Our study shows that health care for all isn’t an economic problem; it’s a question of political will. Across the country, people are building a movement to force politicians to stand up to the special interests and pass laws for secure and affordable health care!”
Waste Not, Want Not is based on an analysis of government census and economic data done by the Center for Economic and Policy Research (CEPR), located in Washington, DC. The report was funded by six unions in conjunction with Health Care Action Week, October 3 – 10, 2004.
Health Care Action Week is sponsored by eleven unions and nine national health care reform organizations.
The report will be available on the Jobs with Justice website at www.jwj.org on October 7.
Jobs with Justice is a national campaign for workers’ rights. More than 40 local Jobs with Justice coalitions unite labor, community, faith-based and student organizations to build power for working people.
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Rand Wilson
Jobs with Justice (www.jwj.org)
21 Fellows Street, Boston, MA 02119
Phone: (617) 989-8045, Fax: (617) 541-6839, Email: rand@jwj.org