Catholic Health East: President's Letter

	Robert V. Stanek President and CEO

March, 2009

Our nation finds itself immersed in the worst economic crisis since the Great Depression. Over 650,000 people lost their jobs in February. According to the Bureau of Labor statistics, the national unemployment rate surged to 8.1 percent last month, its highest level in 25 years. Some experts predict that the unemployment rate could reach ten percent as the recession deepens.
Higher unemployment rates, unfortunately, are only exacerbating an already critical problem: the rising number of residents who are without health insurance. The statistics are staggering: over 46 million Americans –including an estimated nine million children – are without health coverage. According to the Institute of Medicine, “…health insurance is associated with better health outcomes for adults and with their receipt of appropriate care across a range of preventive, chronic and acute care services. Adults without health insurance coverage experience greater declines in health status and die sooner than do adults with continuous coverage.”

The uninsured come from every race and ethnic group, every age group, and every income level. Sadly, there are just toomany uninsured Americans forced to gamble every day that they won’t get sick or injured and delay needed health care services. People without health insurance are eight times more likely to delay seeking care due to the cost. Many of these people end up in our emergency rooms, presenting with debilitating illnesses that require expensive hospitalizations – many of which could have been avoided in they had had access to preventive care. And since people without insurance generally have limited financial resources with which to meet their medical expenses, one major hospitalization could financially ruin and destabilize an entire family.

As our nation struggles through its economic woes, it is also tackling the issue of health care reform head-on. President Obama hosted a health care summit at the White House on March 5, calling together members of Congress and leaders throughout the health care industry to work together to implement meaningful health care reform by the end of the year. As a Catholic health care system, we are adamant that accessible and affordable health care, especially for the poor and disadvantaged, must be the cornerstone of successful health care reform.

While the prospect of health care reform certainly transfixes us, we cannot overlook the current plight of those who are uninsured…and the growing number of newly unemployed citizens who will join the ranks of the uninsured. For this reason, I encourage all CHE colleagues to get involved in Cover the Uninsured Week advocacy efforts. Funded by the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation and sponsored by the Catholic Health Association, American Hospital Association and several other national organizations, Cover the Uninsured Week (March 22-28) helps to raise public awareness about this critically important issue. The Cover the Uninsured Week web site (www.covertheuninsured.org) contains a host of information, materials, and suggestions for how you can localize this effort to your RHC and your community.

During this most difficult of times for all of us, I thank you for your efforts to advocate for those in our communities and our nation who are in desperate need of our support.

Sincerely yours,
Robert V. Stanek
President and Chief Executive Officer,
Catholic Health East

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