Working America and Health Care

Yesterday, on Sean Hannity's radio show, a listened phoned in to complain about being unable to afford medical care or medical insurance. The caller was a married woman with two children whose $44,000 annual salary was the only income for the family. as her husband was unemployed. She indicated that her husband had diabetes and that they were unable to afford to treat him.

During the call, it came out that she could obtain health insurance for her family but it would cost her $400 a month for the entire family. This was a point which Hannity seemed to gloss over. He did point out that if her husband was able to work, that several national employers such as McDonald's and WalMart provide health insurance for full time employees but the idea of working seemed anathema to the caller who would rather the government magic it up for her.

What was more striking, however, was that the family had recently moved from New York (where they were making $119,000 a year and had health insurance) to The Poconos (the Pennsylvania ski resort area). It wasn't clear if it was a voluntary or involuntary move.

Either way, my questions which were left unanswered:

$400 a month is about 10% of her income. Is it really all that much to expect 10% of your income to be dedicated to health insurance when the country pays out almost $10,000 a year per person in health care costs?

If $400 a month (pre-tax, so it's really closer to around $300 a month) is too much to spend, where else is she spending money? How much are they spending on their cable television and cell phones? How much are they spending eating out? Do they have a programmable thermostat and high energy efficient light bulbs? Do they keep the heat at 80 and the air conditioning at 60? Does the non-working family member have a car and, if so, how much does that cost? Why isn't he working? How much are they spending on their rent/mortgage and how large is their home?

However you add it up, it really strikes me as though this middle-class family is just looking for a handout. Perhaps they have done everything they can - perhaps they're in an inexpensive apartment, use every bit of energy efficiency, subsist on rice and beans made at home, don't have cable or cell phones, and really don't have any additional money available. Somehow, though, I doubt that's the case.