Crisis leaves millions without Insurance

US: More than 4 million US citizens lost their medical insurance as a consequence of the economic crisis, though the number is still increasing, a study revealed here Thursday.

An investigation carried out by the US Progress Center revealed that the number of US citizens without medical insurance grows in 14,000 people every day.

The Human Health Services warned Wednesday that the US governmental insurance for the sector, named Medicaid, is going down to collapse, at the increasing rhythm of recession and unemployment in the country.

While millions are losing their jobs, and consequently, their private sanitary attention, the national program is about to receive a huge financial punch.

HHS analysts warned that the cost of the medical care in the United States could be duplicated before 2017, reaching an amount of 4.3 trillion dollars which would represent 19.5 percent of the US Gross Domestic Product.

In fact the public expense in the federal program went up to 9.6 percent already last year, starting from the 352 billion up to 386 billion dollars in 2009.

The unfortunate expectation is that a growth in this expense in a constant way is expected, with a projection for the 2009-2017 period near to 6.7 percent every year, US economist Andrea Sisko pointed out.

According to the report of HHS, the economic descent of the nation will move more than 50 percent of federal expenses toward medical care before 2018, when this bill would represent 51.3 percent of the budget of Washington.

US President Barack Obama activated a million-dollar fund to bolster medical care programs for poor in United States going already around 40 million.

Washington,

Prensa Latina