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NCHPAD - Building Healthy Inclusive Communities

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Director's Column: Without Health Promotion, the Health Care System Will Remain Broken for People with Disabilities


As the Presidential debates enter their peak season, a key issue that affects all of us is rising health care costs. Almost every mailbox in America this year will contain one or more medical bills. For the less fortunate, bills from hospitals, insurance companies, or collection agencies will appear weekly. It is unimaginable how we can have such a disappointing health care system in a society that prides itself on being the most affluent country in the world.

Issues such as who will pay and how much they will pay, as well as what type of payment the government should subsidize are hotly contested issues in this campaign. Except for the wealthiest people in the U.S., this is one of the most stressful issues for millions of Americans, and in particular, for people with disabilities, older adults, and others with chronic conditions such as diabetes, arthritis and heart disease. Many Americans who fall into one of these three groups live under an umbrella of rising medical costs that threaten their quality of life and force them into taking large loans to pay for their health care or that of their children, or to default on loans and end up with poor credit for many years. Some have to work extra hours or take part-time evening jobs to pay for medical bills resulting from a family member's illness. Millions are constantly called by collection agencies demanding payment. Many say it's a life filled with stress and anguish, often worsening other medical conditions such as heart disease, high blood pressure, and depression.

Read the entire column at: http://www.ncpad.org/532/2473/2008-02~Issue~~Without~Health~Promotion~~the~Health~
Care~System~Will~Remain~Broken~for~People~with~Disabilities
.


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