Out of Pocket Spending (OOPs) is increasing faster than people can accommodate it. According to the Wall Street Journal, a recent survey by the National Association of Insurance Commissioners shows 22% of respondents are seeing their health care providers less often because of the economic downturn — this was reported last month (not after last week’s debacle). A smaller percentage of respondents also said they were economizing by not taking their prescription drugs.

A Chicago Tribune article reported another disturbing trend: Average premium and out-of-pocket costs for health insurance for an individual will climb 9 percent to $3,826 in 2009.

Meanwhile, Karen Davis, president of the Commonwealth Fund, testified before the House Ways and Means Subcommittee on Health last week that the rising cost of health care has coincided with eroding insurance coverage and more responsibility for costs for the American family.

Davis recommended the following steps:

• Providing health insurance premium assistance to low-income and modest-income families who cannot afford family premiums (where’s the $$$?).
• Strengthening employer coverage (the opposite of what everybody else is doing).
• Setting national rules for the operation of individual health insurance markets or creating a national insurance connector that makes affordable health insurance policies available to those without access to employer coverage (like Wyden tries to do in his bill).

This is serious. An economic downturn, combined with rising costs for health care and insurance means more patients with chronic conditions like cardiovascular disease will end up uninsured and economizing on their care. Is this a perfect storm, or what?

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