Conor McNamara
Religion & Ethics Editor
THIS FALL, the Center for Social Concerns welcomed a new club into the fold – one that has generated a great deal of buzz and promises to garner further attention as the 2008 presidential primaries approach. Meet SJAM: Social Justice in American Medicine.
What, exactly, is SJAM? First conceived two years ago by founder and current club president Lindsay Martin, SJAM is a club committed to changing the way Americans pay for and receive healthcare. Of the club’s mission, Martin said, “We want to bring the healthcare crisis to the forefront of the student body’s consciousness, to make the inequities of the present system known. It’s an issue that is going to affect all of us in near future, and we need to be informed. We need to change the way things are done.”
America’s current system of healthcare distribution, in which private companies and the government each pay for some Americans’ healthcare, is in disarray. Rising costs have pushed healthcare-related GDP expenditures above 16 percent, and experts expect this figure to climb as the baby-boom generation approaches age 65.
Even more pressing than confronting rising healthcare costs is addressing the plight of those who have no health coverage at all: the uninsured. According to the National Coalition on Healthcare, nearly 47 million Americans currently do not possess any form of health insurance coverage. Of these 47 million, 8.3 million are children. Between 2004 and 2005, the number of uninsured rose 1.3 million and has increased by almost 7 million people since the year 2000. Medicaid, the federal-state government sponsored health program which assists low income families, is unable to provide healthcare to those beneath the poverty line, and those who hover just above the poverty line do not qualify for assistance.
The United States spends nearly $100 billion per year to provide uninsured residents with health services, often for illness that could have been treated both more effectively and less expensively if detected sooner. Hospitals provide about $34 billion worth of uncompensated care per year, and another $37 billion is paid by private and public payers for the uninsured’s health services. Uninsured individuals are 30-50 percent more likely to be hospitalized for an avoidable condition, with the cost of these hospital stays averaging nearly $3,300.
How do hospitals cover their uncompensated expenses? They pass the cost on to patients who have health insurance. Insured patients, then, pass the costs on to their insurance companies. Insurance companies respond to this increased financial burden by increasing client premiums. As premiums increase, fewer people are able to afford health insurance. Those who struggle to make insurance premium payments eventually become uninsured, and if they end up in an emergency room, they become another uncompensated expense to the hospital, and the process starts over.
Unwilling to let this situation endure, members of Social Justice in American Medicine have dedicated themselves to educating others about the problem of American healthcare and to studying potential alternatives to our present system. In researching the issue throughout the past year, SJAM has developed a five point plan which it considers essential to a truly just healthcare system: (1) the system must provide every American with all necessary care and basic health services, (2) it must be fiscally feasible, (3) Its focus must be centered upon disease prevention, (4) it must take steps to extricate itself from the disproportionate influence pharmaceutical companies currently hold, and (5) it must consolidate the fiscal responsibility for payment into fewer hands to encourage physicians to save money on care and to keep costs down.
This year, club members plan to take SJAM’s awareness campaign to new heights. In the coming days, 2008 presidential candidates will unveil their healthcare plans. SJAM has invited several prominent healthcare professionals and community leaders to hold discussion forums on each of the proposed healthcare plans, evaluating each one’s attractiveness based upon the five point criteria listed above. During this year’s national ‘Cover the Uninsured’ week, SJAM members will be distributing pamphlets and other informative materials to students on campus and encouraging them to get involved with the crisis on a local level. SJAM will be participating in Notre Dame’s annual “Share the Health” program, and club members will have the opportunity to become familiar with the current healthcare delivery system through volunteering at the Sr. Maura Brannick Clinic and Memorial Hospital’s Hispanic Initiative.
Social Justice in American Medicine president Lindsay Martin believes that her SJAMers are attempting to confront a serious injustice, one that will require years of concentrated effort to abolish. Yet, she refuses to let the magnitude of the problem overwhelm the club. “The important thing is to get students thinking about the issue now. We are the leaders of tomorrow, and the responsibility is going to fall to us.”
Contact Conor at cmcnama1@nd.edu
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