HEARING - U.S. Senate Special Committee on Aging

FOR RELEASE AT 9:00 P.M. H2ST)
TUESDAY, JANUARY 27, 1987
118
Iter, 6
THE WHITE HOUSE
Office of the Press Secretary
THE PRESIDENT'S INITIATIVE ON
CATASTROPHIC ILLNESS COVERAGE
FACT SHEET
The President recognizes that catastrophic illness can debilitate
individuals and families financially, emotionally and physically.
In proposing new initiatives to protect against the financial
costs of catastrophic illness, the President ia looking for ways
to protect the millions whose present coverage is either
non-existent or inadequate.
Coverage Under Present System
The American health care financing system is a broad network of
private insurance mechanisms and public programs which, taken
together, protect the majority of persons from the financial
costs of catastrophic illness. Many people, however, still fear
that potential devastating Illnesses can destroy their financial
security.
In addressing the catastrophic illness problem in the United
States, there are three groups of people to considers the
general population under age 65, the elderly facing long-term
care expenses; and the elderly facing acute-care expenses. The
risks that these groups face are different, and programs to deal
with their problems must vary accordingly.
2. General Population Under Age 65
The majority of the general population is covered by
employment-related group health insurance with costs borne by
employers as one component of fringe benefit packages. A large
number of persons who do not work are covered for health expenses
by Nedicaid, a program designed for the elderly poor, the blind,
diaabled persons, and poor families with dependent children.
There are, however, an estimated 30 million people under the age
of 65 who have no health insurance at all, and 10 million who
have inadequate coverage for catastrophically high expenses.
Sany are self-employed or are employees of firms that do not
offer group health insurance to their employees. Federal, State,
and local governments annually spend several billions of dollars
to care for the uninsured.