Indiana Health Insurance Fact Sheet
Did you know that...
In Indiana, there are 860,000 Hoosiers with no health insurance coverage at all. That is 14% of the state's population. And 159,000 children have no coverage.
The number of uninsured in Indiana is growing at twice the national average. Indiana ranks 23rd among the states in the number of uninsured persons.
We have the highest per capita rate of medically bankrupt families, over 77,000 Hoosiers. And surprisingly, 75% of those declaring bankruptcy for medical reasons had health insurance when they got sick.
We lost 138,000 manufacturing jobs from 2000 to 2004. Many of the service sector jobs replacing those jobs lack health insurance.
"Healthcare costs in Indiana are among the highest in the country. Our rising cost of health insurance coverage, combined with lost productivity due to illness, has made Indiana a less desirable place to do business." Governor Mitch Daniels, quoted in newspapers across the state in June, 2005.
Indianapolis is the second most expensive city in the nation for per family health insurance premiums. Anthem/WellPoint, headquartered in Indianapolis, is one of the largest health insurance companies in the nation. The CEO, Larry Glassock, received a bonus of $42.5 million in 2003.
Indiana has a history of innovation in the medical arena. Eli Lilly and Indiana University Medical Center are known for creative ideas and innovative thinking. In the 70's we passed medical malpractice legislation that served as a model for many other states. We can lead the way again.
The most efficient, cost effective way to care for the state's population is to have a government sponsored program of insurance, like Medicare, to cover everyone. Patients would have free choice of doctors and hospitals. There is simply no better way to do it.
You can get more information from Hoosiers for a Commonsense Health Plan (www.hchp.info)
and from Physicians for a National Health Program (www.pnhp.org).
You can get involved. Together we can work for change!
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