The White House
Health Care Reform Today
November 23, 1993
- In 1980, the average family paid one dollar for health out of
every eleven dollars of pre-tax income. By the end of the decade,
without health reform, the average family will pay nearly one out of
every five dollars of income for health.
- That report was released yesterday by "Families USA".
Executive Director Ron Pollack: "Without reform, health care will soon
consume twice as big a chunk of your family income as it did in 1980."
- In 1980, health payments per family averaged $2,590. Today,
health payments average $7,739 per family, according to the Families USA
report. Without reform, health payments will average $14,517 per family
by end of the decade, more than five and a half times what Americans paid
in 1980.
- In 1980, health payments consumed nine percent of the average
family's income, according to the report. Today, 13.1 percent of family
income goes to health. By 2000, the report projects that health payments
will devour 18.4 percent of a family's income, on average.
- "In 1980, about a month of your pre-tax went to health costs.
Without reform, Americans will have to work nearly ten weeks to pay their
annual costs at the end of this decade." Pollack said.
- The new report, "Skyrocketing Health Inflation: 1980, 1993 was
produced by Families USA with a grant from the Robert Wood Johnson
Foundation.