Affordable Health Care: A Basic Human Right

Our Position

Catholic Charities USA’s Human Dignity Agenda affirms that every individual is entitled to a life of dignity and opportunity.

Every person should have access to equitable and affordable health care as a basic human right.

Special attention must be paid to the basic health needs of the poor and marginalized. Health care reform, and addressing such needs, is a matter of fundamental justice.

The Threat to Human Potential

The United States spends more per capita on health care than any other nation, yet approximately 45 million persons, including nearly 9 million children, have no coverage at all. An estimated additional 25 million Americans are underinsured or spending more than 10 percent of their income on out-of pocket health care expenses.

Inadequate health care coverage threatens the well-being of individuals and families. Nearly half of the uninsured do not seek care for a medical problem and one in three cannot even fill their prescriptions.

Lack of health insurance also threatens family economic security. Nearly one quarter of uninsured persons report having to eliminate meals or spend less on utilities in order to pay for medical bills. Furthermore, hospitals often charge uninsured persons two to four times higher than what insurers and public programs pay, which can push people into debt.

The human potential to lead full, productive lives is affected by the ability to access quality, affordable health services.

Challenges: Rising Premiums, Racial Disparities

The declining number of companies offering employer-based insurance has contributed to millions of working families going without health care.

The Economic Policy Institute research showed that in 2000, 64.2 percent of Americans received health insurance through their employers, but by 2006, that number dropped to 59.7 percent. This has resulted in some 2.3 million fewer Americans without employer-based coverage. At the same time, health insurance premiums for family coverage increased more than four times the growth in wages.

Low-wage workers are less likely to be offered insurance and are most affected by increases in expected employee contributions. Trends in the uninsured also exacerbate racial disparities, with minorities disproportionately ranked amongst the uninsured, including Hispanics, Native Americans, African Americans, and Asian Americans.

The Impact on Economic Security

The lack of affordable health care presents a complex set of problems for many low and moderate-income families.

Families that cannot afford health insurance, or lack access to proper health care, often do not receive preventive medicine and/or regular care. These families are more likely to miss work and school, making it more difficult for such families to maintain steady employment and move toward economic security.

A nation that continues to be as prosperous as America, despite our recent economic misfortunes, must enact fundamental reforms that will provide for an efficient and quality health care system ensuring the well-being of all, especially the most vulnerable amongst us.

Making a Difference on Capitol Hill

Catholic Charities USA urges Congress to:

• Enact comprehensive health care policies that ensure equitable, accessible, affordable, and quality health care for all that safeguards human life from conception until natural death;
• Improve health literacy and education;
• Focus on preventative care;
• Restrain health care costs with responsible financing and cost-sharing;
• Strengthen the Medicaid safety net for low-income persons;
• Expand mental health coverage for the poor and vulnerable by sufficiently funding mental health and substance abuse programs administered by The Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration (SAMHSA); and
• Ensure key health care protection for children in very low-income families.