The New York Times
August 31, 2001
by Tamar Lewin
“Over the last five years, the number of uninsured women has grown three times faster than the number of uninsured men, according to a new study by the Commonwealth Fund.”
“Lack of insurance is a serious problem for women, the report said, because women’s health needs are greater than men’s: women are more likely than men to have chronic illnesses, more likely to have mental health problems and more likely to make regular use of prescription drugs.”
“Older married women, aged 55 to 65, are 40 percent more likely to be uninsured than older married men, in part because their husbands meet Medicare’s age 65 coverage requirement and they do not. As couples near the age of Medicare eligibility, women married to older men are at especially high risk of being uninsured.”
Karen Davis, President of the Commonwealth Fund:
“It’s ironic, and not right that as women get older, and reach the age range where they’re most likely to be providing care to disabled family members, they’re also most likely to be having trouble making sure their own health care needs are met.”
Comment: Again, 92% of Americans believe that it is important for the President and Congress to “deal with the issue of increasing the number of Americans covered by health insurance.” And yet they continue to follow policies that are supported by the 2% that believe it is “not at all important.” Why?
(Note: There will be no “Quote of the Day” for the next ten days.)