KEJA
Economic
Justice Policy
Framework
CRITICAL ISSUES 2006-2010
Health Care
Goal: Assure that all Kentuckians have access to quality, affordable, and preventive health care.
Analysis: Kentucky’s health care crisis does harm to individuals, families, employers and our economic future.
By nearly every measure, our population suffers from poor health, resulting in high mortality, loss of productivity, and diminished quality of life. We have the highest rate of lung cancer and second highest rate of all cancers in the nation. Fully twenty percent of Kentuckians ages five and older reported living with a disability in 2000.
Compounding the problem is lack of access to affordable health care and the rising costs of health insurance. Nearly 1 in 3 Kentuckians under the age of 65 went without health insurance for all or part of 2002-2003.
As the cost of health care continues to outstrip inflation, many Kentuckians are paying a larger share of premiums for diminishing benefits. Rising health care costs are also straining employers and publicly agencies. Health care spending consumes 15% of the state’s General Fund and 23% of the entire state budget.
Principles: Access to health care is fundamental to a sound quality of life. Health care should not be considered a luxury available only to the wealthy. Kentucky should invest in programs that expand access to health care and deliver better results, including investments in preventive care.
A comprehensive approach to improving health and health care is needed. This means paying attention to economic inequalities, environmental degradation, and other factors like education, housing, the built environment, and the challenges many groups face to participating in public decisions.
Back
to Policy Framework