02-02-2006 – For working poor, it’s pay the rent or pay for medical care: N.M. must remove this dilemma
By Bruce Trigg
February 2, 2006
If the state Legislature decides to raise the minimum wage for tens of thousands of New Mexicans, this may well turn out to be the most important public health improvement measure ever attempted in this state. The reason is quite simple: Poverty is a health issue as much as it is an issue of economics and social justice.
Public health scientists have understood the connection between poverty and poor health for almost two centuries. Population groups that suffer the worst health status are those that have the highest poverty rates. To put it simply: The poor are sicker and die younger than the rich.
One recent health study found that men in the Untied States with family incomes in the top 5 percent had a 25 percent longer life than did those in the bottom 5 percent. People with low incomes have higher rates of heart disease, arthritis, diabetes, obesity and low-weight births than do those who are better off financially.
How can this link between health status and income be explained? The most widely accepted explanation is that workers who receive higher wages are in a better position to eat healthier foods, engage in healthier activities and behaviors, afford good housing and live in safer and less environmentally degraded neighborhoods with better schools for their children.
Higher wages also mean that more workers can afford medical care. A recent Kaiser Family Foundation survey found that one in four women under 65 and two-thirds of uninsured women delayed or went without care in the past year, because they could not afford it. In addition, 20 percent of women 18 years and older say they did not fill a prescription in the past year because of cost. Too many New Mexicans are forced to choose between paying their rent and buying their medicines.
For those who are fortunate enough to have employers who offer health insurance, higher wages mean the ability to afford the premiums, deductibles and co-pays that go along with private health insurance. Having health insurance is not a luxury; it is often a matter of life or death.
The Institute of Medicine recently reported that about 18,000 unnecessary deaths occur each year in the United States because of lack of health insurance. The uninsured must rely on publicly funded insurance – Medicaid covers most pregnancies and a large proportion of children in New Mexico – and receive what care they do get in publicly funded emergency rooms, clinics, and hospitals. A majority of the uninsured in New Mexico are full-time workers and their families.
Getting more New Mexicans insured has been one of Gov. Bill Richardson’s top priorities. This year, he’s proposing that all children from birth to age five will have health insurance.
We taxpayers are, in effect, subsidizing employers who do not provide affordable health care, which forces their employees into publicly financed health care systems. Higher wages will enable more workers to afford their insurance premiums, and some public dollars will be saved that are now being spent on indigent care.
Poverty is unhealthful; reducing economic inequality is a public health priority.
In 2004, under Gov. Richardson’s leadership, New Mexico finally eliminated the tax on food. This tax cut saves working families hundreds of dollars a year. An increase in the minimum wage is a next step toward creating a healthier New Mexico.
The hard-working people who build our homes, care for our children, harvest our crops, check out our groceries, feed us in restaurants and clean our offices are entitled to decent wages and a healthier life for themselves and their families.
Trigg is an Albuquerque pediatrician and public health physician.
Website: News Article Link