• E-mail
• Print
• Comment
• Font Size
• Digg
• del.icio.us
• Discuss article

(W) Study Finds Health-Care Woes on the Rise

Posted on: Tuesday, 21 December 2004, 18:00 CST

BOSTON - With advocates calling it a "wake-up call" for health- care professionals in Massachusetts, a new study indicates incidents of preventable illnesses, diseases and health conditions such as asthma, Hepatitis C, and obesity have been on the rise in recent years.

The study, "Common Health for the Commonwealth," released last week by the nonprofit Massachusetts Health Council, looks at trends in 12 health, social, economic, and environmental indicators.

"We have a long ways to go, that's for sure," said Sen. Richard Moore, D-Uxbridge, co-chairman of the legislature's Health Care Committee.

According to the study, the number of state residents without health insurance has risen by 10 percent during the last two years, and 26 percent in the last four years. Recent estimates put the number of uninsured people between 450,000 and 685,000, with 55 percent of those between the ages of 18 and 39.

Moore is among the group of Beacon Hill leaders pushing major health-care reform legislation to increase access to affordable care.

Governor Romney and Senate President Robert Travaglini, D-East Boston, have each said that reducing the number of uninsured in the state is among their top priorities for the 2005-2006 session, and have indicated their willingness to work together on a collaborative plan.

"At least the governor and legislative leaders are reading the same book, even if they're not on the same page," Moore said.

Among the 12 indicators studied, the number of people with asthma, obesity and Hepatitis C, people without health care, and the number of violent crimes rose from previous years, the study said. The number of new AIDS/HIV cases and the number of cigarette packs sold per capita decreased.

According to the study, incidents of Hepatitis C rose from 3,763 cases in 2001 to 10,736 in 2002; the percentage of residents with asthma stands at 12.9 percent here and 11.8 percent nationally; and a resident's average weight statewide has grown by 10 percent, with 55 percent of the population considered overweight and 18 percent identified as obese.

Rep. Peter Koutoujian, D-Waltham,, co-chairman of the Health Care Committee, said reducing the number of obese children and adults is one of his top priorities. He is pushing a bill to mandate a certain number of hours of physical education and eliminate sugar-filled foods from school vending machines.

Public Health Commissioner Christine Ferguson, who had laparoscopic adjustable gastric banding -- a less invasive form of gastric bypass surgery -- in July 2003 and has since lost roughly 100 pounds, said issues of obesity and asthma, specifically, can have "troubling" effects on a person's quality of life, their career, and their interaction with other people.

"When you're fat, the fact of the matter is that people treat you differently," she said. "This is about more than just health care savings."

Ferguson said that on a national scale, health care professionals have not changed the way they view prevention of diseases for more than two decades.

And although locally, Massachusetts remains a leader in the health care industry, there needs to be a nationwide ideological change, she said.

"The way people feel about prevention now is really how they felt about prevention in the 1980s," she said. "It's hard to keep fighting this fight, but there's nothing more important."

Ferguson said she was not concerned about the report's findings because Massachusetts scores higher than the rest of the nation in nearly every category. And with new technology available, Ferguson said experts are poised to make even more improvements and collect better data than ever before.

"There is a real commitment to get better," she said.

The full study is available by visiting www.mahealthcouncil.org.

Source: Providence Journal

More News in this Category