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American Morning
'Bouncing Back': Health Care Insurance
Aired May 08, 2003 - 07:44 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
HEIDI COLLINS, CNN ANCHOR: The numbers are staggering: 40 million Americans have no health insurance. Another 40 million have had a gap in coverage during the past two years. And get this: the leading cause of personal bankruptcy is unpaid medical bills.
This morning in our "Bouncing Back" series, Janet Casagrande has been working at Starbucks to help offset the high cost of health care for her family of five. Her husband has been out of work for nearly two years, and Janet is with us now this morning.
Good morning to you, Janet. Thanks for being here.
JANET CASAGRANDE, WORKS AT STARBUCKS TO GET HEALTH INSURANCE: Hi.
COLLINS: As we said, we know that your husband has been out of work for a couple of years. You decided to take this second job at Starbucks to get the health care insurance. Why did you do it?
CASAGRANDE: Well, because we couldn't afford it any other way. When you lose your job, you can get Cobra, but you can't afford to pay for Cobra. So, to work at Starbucks, all I have to do is do 20 hours a week, and I get the health coverage, and the whole family gets covered. So, that makes a big difference.
COLLINS: Is it worth it?
CASAGRANDE: It definitely is, because we couldn't have done it any other way. So, I mean, we just have to pay a little bit, but not, you know, a lot, like 700 or over $1,000 probably for...
COLLINS: It's $220 a month, right?
CASAGRANDE: Right. So, that's practically nothing compared to what we would have to pay.
COLLINS: For the peace of mind it seems worth it to you.
CASAGRANDE: Yes.
COLLINS: Tell us about other ways that you may have cut household expenses in order to pay for your health care insurance.
CASAGRANDE: How other ways we've paid...
COLLINS: Other ways that you've cut back at your home. CASAGRANDE: Oh, we just don't -- we don't do anything anymore. We just basically -- the kids go to school, I go to work, and we don't go out to dinner, we don't get anything extra. I mean, Christmas, holidays -- that's the things my family has helped us with those kinds of things. So, that's the only extras we get is that.
COLLINS: You blow bubbles, though. I just saw the kids on the deck, some pictures there, with your kids blowing bubbles.
CASAGRANDE: Oh, yes.
COLLINS: Bubbles are good.
CASAGRANDE: Yes.
COLLINS: You know, it is -- it seems like it is obviously...
CASAGRANDE: Yes.
COLLINS: ... a very serious concern of yours.
CASAGRANDE: Yes.
COLLINS: And you've got to have health care coverage...
CASAGRANDE: Sure.
COLLINS: ... for the entire family. Is there anything that you have learned from this experience?
CASAGRANDE: Well, we have to have the health care. It just makes a big difference, and we have to -- I have to work a second job just to be able to do it. I'm not sure what else. Just that it's important that we get it when we do have a job.
COLLINS: Absolutely. Now let me ask you, if your husband, Lou (ph), finds a job, will you continue then working at Starbucks?
CASAGRANDE: I probably will. I like it a lot. The people there are a lot of fun, and we enjoy it a lot. So, I probably would take a break for a little while, because it's been two years and having to worry that I make sure I have to do my 20 hours. But I'll go down to maybe once a week or something like that, or take a little break and then come back, because my husband is addicted to Starbucks. So, I need...
COLLINS: I was going to say, who is the latte drinker in the family?
CASAGRANDE: I don't drink coffee. I should -- maybe I shouldn't say that, but he loves Starbucks coffee. So, we get that benefit, too.
COLLINS: Now, I understand there quite a few other women doing the same thing that you are doing at Starbucks? Is that right? CASAGRANDE: There are a total four women and another man, but basically the four of us are there because -- one woman, she is a divorcee, so she needs her health benefits, and a woman that her husband does consulting, so he doesn't get any coverage at all.
COLLINS: Right.
CASAGRANDE: Since he's freelancing, so he doesn't get it. And a woman that has a small, little business, so she just came because she goes, it's ridiculous.
COLLINS: Right.
CASAGRANDE: I can't even afford to pay the health benefits, so she comes and works her 20 hours, and she does it in the morning and then she goes and takes care of her job. So we all...
COLLINS: OK, you all are sharing similar stories there.
CASAGRANDE: Yes, that's all I'm saying.
COLLINS: Janet Casagrande, we appreciate your story very, very much this morning.
We are going to talk a little bit more now about the high costs of health care in this country.
From Washington this morning, Karen Pollitz of Georgetown University.
Karen, Janet's story is pretty positive. I mean, is able to do something to get coverage. But millions of Americans simply go without health coverage. What is the real issue here?
KAREN POLLITZ, GEORGETOWN UNIVERSITY: Well, that's right. Most do. We do have 41 million uninsured Americans at last count. That number is up 1.4 million from the year before. And the primary reason for that growth in the uninsured in the last year is loss of employer- sponsored coverage.
It's great if you can do what Janet did and get another job, so that you can stay in employer-sponsored coverage. Also, if you're married and you got laid off but your spouse has a job with health benefits, you have a right, under federal law, to enroll in your spouse's health plan.
And then there is Cobra, which Janet also mentioned. The trick to Cobra, though, is that you have to pay the whole bill yourself. The employer won't kick in. And people who look at the Cobra premium often suffer from real sticker shock, because if they had been paying $50 or $60 a month, once they have to take on the employer's share as well, that could rise to $300 or $400 a month just for a single person.
COLLINS: So, Karen, where do you suggest people should start then? POLLITZ: Well, if you can't find a way to reattach to employer- sponsored coverage, people start looking for cheaper options. We do have a Medicaid program in this country. If you're very poor, you may be able to qualify, but that's primarily a program for families with children and disabled people.
States also have more generous eligibility rules for children. So, if you have kids, you should look into your state's children's health insurance program, because you may at least be able to get the kids covered under that.
After that, people really do start looking for cheaper options, and that's when I start to get nervous. Health insurance is inherently expensive, and when you find cheaper coverage, there is usually a reason why it's cheaper.
People do try to buy coverage on their own in the individual market. If you're very, very young, in your 20s, and very healthy, you probably can find a decent policy that's affordable. But as soon as you pass about your 35th birthday or if you have any health problems or a history of health problems, you run the risk of getting turned down in that market, at least in most states.
COLLINS: Right, I was going to just going to ask you about that. I wonder if you say that the long-term outlook is just -- you seem a little frustrated, as many Americans we are learning about feel the same way. Thanks so much, Karen Pollitz, coming to us from Washington, D.C. this morning. We appreciate it.
POLLITZ: Thank you.
TO ORDER A VIDEO OF THIS TRANSCRIPT, PLEASE CALL 800-CNN-NEWS OR USE OUR SECURE ONLINE ORDER FORM LOCATED AT www.fdch.com.
Aired May 8, 2003 - 07:44 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
HEIDI COLLINS, CNN ANCHOR: The numbers are staggering: 40 million Americans have no health insurance. Another 40 million have had a gap in coverage during the past two years. And get this: the leading cause of personal bankruptcy is unpaid medical bills.
This morning in our "Bouncing Back" series, Janet Casagrande has been working at Starbucks to help offset the high cost of health care for her family of five. Her husband has been out of work for nearly two years, and Janet is with us now this morning.
Good morning to you, Janet. Thanks for being here.
JANET CASAGRANDE, WORKS AT STARBUCKS TO GET HEALTH INSURANCE: Hi.
COLLINS: As we said, we know that your husband has been out of work for a couple of years. You decided to take this second job at Starbucks to get the health care insurance. Why did you do it?
CASAGRANDE: Well, because we couldn't afford it any other way. When you lose your job, you can get Cobra, but you can't afford to pay for Cobra. So, to work at Starbucks, all I have to do is do 20 hours a week, and I get the health coverage, and the whole family gets covered. So, that makes a big difference.
COLLINS: Is it worth it?
CASAGRANDE: It definitely is, because we couldn't have done it any other way. So, I mean, we just have to pay a little bit, but not, you know, a lot, like 700 or over $1,000 probably for...
COLLINS: It's $220 a month, right?
CASAGRANDE: Right. So, that's practically nothing compared to what we would have to pay.
COLLINS: For the peace of mind it seems worth it to you.
CASAGRANDE: Yes.
COLLINS: Tell us about other ways that you may have cut household expenses in order to pay for your health care insurance.
CASAGRANDE: How other ways we've paid...
COLLINS: Other ways that you've cut back at your home. CASAGRANDE: Oh, we just don't -- we don't do anything anymore. We just basically -- the kids go to school, I go to work, and we don't go out to dinner, we don't get anything extra. I mean, Christmas, holidays -- that's the things my family has helped us with those kinds of things. So, that's the only extras we get is that.
COLLINS: You blow bubbles, though. I just saw the kids on the deck, some pictures there, with your kids blowing bubbles.
CASAGRANDE: Oh, yes.
COLLINS: Bubbles are good.
CASAGRANDE: Yes.
COLLINS: You know, it is -- it seems like it is obviously...
CASAGRANDE: Yes.
COLLINS: ... a very serious concern of yours.
CASAGRANDE: Yes.
COLLINS: And you've got to have health care coverage...
CASAGRANDE: Sure.
COLLINS: ... for the entire family. Is there anything that you have learned from this experience?
CASAGRANDE: Well, we have to have the health care. It just makes a big difference, and we have to -- I have to work a second job just to be able to do it. I'm not sure what else. Just that it's important that we get it when we do have a job.
COLLINS: Absolutely. Now let me ask you, if your husband, Lou (ph), finds a job, will you continue then working at Starbucks?
CASAGRANDE: I probably will. I like it a lot. The people there are a lot of fun, and we enjoy it a lot. So, I probably would take a break for a little while, because it's been two years and having to worry that I make sure I have to do my 20 hours. But I'll go down to maybe once a week or something like that, or take a little break and then come back, because my husband is addicted to Starbucks. So, I need...
COLLINS: I was going to say, who is the latte drinker in the family?
CASAGRANDE: I don't drink coffee. I should -- maybe I shouldn't say that, but he loves Starbucks coffee. So, we get that benefit, too.
COLLINS: Now, I understand there quite a few other women doing the same thing that you are doing at Starbucks? Is that right? CASAGRANDE: There are a total four women and another man, but basically the four of us are there because -- one woman, she is a divorcee, so she needs her health benefits, and a woman that her husband does consulting, so he doesn't get any coverage at all.
COLLINS: Right.
CASAGRANDE: Since he's freelancing, so he doesn't get it. And a woman that has a small, little business, so she just came because she goes, it's ridiculous.
COLLINS: Right.
CASAGRANDE: I can't even afford to pay the health benefits, so she comes and works her 20 hours, and she does it in the morning and then she goes and takes care of her job. So we all...
COLLINS: OK, you all are sharing similar stories there.
CASAGRANDE: Yes, that's all I'm saying.
COLLINS: Janet Casagrande, we appreciate your story very, very much this morning.
We are going to talk a little bit more now about the high costs of health care in this country.
From Washington this morning, Karen Pollitz of Georgetown University.
Karen, Janet's story is pretty positive. I mean, is able to do something to get coverage. But millions of Americans simply go without health coverage. What is the real issue here?
KAREN POLLITZ, GEORGETOWN UNIVERSITY: Well, that's right. Most do. We do have 41 million uninsured Americans at last count. That number is up 1.4 million from the year before. And the primary reason for that growth in the uninsured in the last year is loss of employer- sponsored coverage.
It's great if you can do what Janet did and get another job, so that you can stay in employer-sponsored coverage. Also, if you're married and you got laid off but your spouse has a job with health benefits, you have a right, under federal law, to enroll in your spouse's health plan.
And then there is Cobra, which Janet also mentioned. The trick to Cobra, though, is that you have to pay the whole bill yourself. The employer won't kick in. And people who look at the Cobra premium often suffer from real sticker shock, because if they had been paying $50 or $60 a month, once they have to take on the employer's share as well, that could rise to $300 or $400 a month just for a single person.
COLLINS: So, Karen, where do you suggest people should start then? POLLITZ: Well, if you can't find a way to reattach to employer- sponsored coverage, people start looking for cheaper options. We do have a Medicaid program in this country. If you're very poor, you may be able to qualify, but that's primarily a program for families with children and disabled people.
States also have more generous eligibility rules for children. So, if you have kids, you should look into your state's children's health insurance program, because you may at least be able to get the kids covered under that.
After that, people really do start looking for cheaper options, and that's when I start to get nervous. Health insurance is inherently expensive, and when you find cheaper coverage, there is usually a reason why it's cheaper.
People do try to buy coverage on their own in the individual market. If you're very, very young, in your 20s, and very healthy, you probably can find a decent policy that's affordable. But as soon as you pass about your 35th birthday or if you have any health problems or a history of health problems, you run the risk of getting turned down in that market, at least in most states.
COLLINS: Right, I was going to just going to ask you about that. I wonder if you say that the long-term outlook is just -- you seem a little frustrated, as many Americans we are learning about feel the same way. Thanks so much, Karen Pollitz, coming to us from Washington, D.C. this morning. We appreciate it.
POLLITZ: Thank you.
TO ORDER A VIDEO OF THIS TRANSCRIPT, PLEASE CALL 800-CNN-NEWS OR USE OUR SECURE ONLINE ORDER FORM LOCATED AT www.fdch.com.
