When I came across the Business and Media Institute website and saw that it, together with its parent organization, Media Research Center, claimed to be a “media watchdog,” I immediately became defensive. You know: If media needs a watchdog, then what does business need?
So I scheduled an interview with Amy Menefee, a Deputy Editor at BMI who, it turns out, is from Macon, Georgia, where my wife grew up, as well. Now Amy impressed me with a certain degree of forthrightness, but I must admit that I still have reservations about BMI and MRC. If you look at their websites, you will note that they focus on the “bias” of CNN, NBC, CBS and ABC, but FOX is not called to task, at least not nearly as much. They also seem to be an immediate response team for business on everything from high gas prices to the environment to trade. They even think that China is doing us a favor sending us dangerous products!
Amy assured me that BMI and MRC focus on business and economic issues in the media. Of course, they support the free market, but Amy assured me that they don’t bend the facts, and don’t make up the facts. For the time being, I will give Amy the benefit of the doubt, primarily because she told me that BMI supports competition in health care. But, that is another interview. I wanted to interview Amy about the number of uninsured Americans.
If you Google “Americans uninsured health care,” you will find multiple sites that quote the figure of 40+ million as the number of Americans without health insurance. You will also find an article by BMI that says this figure is a lie.
According to Amy, the U. S. Census indicates that 9.5 million of the unisured in American are not even American citizens. They may be illegal aliens (those that respond to the Census) or foreign students or something else.
According to Amy, the Census also indicates that about 8 million uninsured Americans make between $50,000 to $75,000 and almost 9 million more make more than $75,000. Now why would someone making that kind of money not have health insurance? Well, according to Amy, one survey indicates that 60% of these people reported they were in excellent health.
And then there are those who are only temporarily uninsured. They may be between jobs. According to Amy, the Congressional Budget Office reports that 45% of the uninsured are without insurance for only 4 months.
So is the number of unisured 15 million or 45 million? Does it really matter? If it is really as low as 15 million, then it certainly ought to be something we can solve and be fair to working American families.
And even more importantly, what does any of this have to do with the high cost of health care and the millions of dollars in insurance company profits while the average American struggles to pay for the recent hospitalization when our child went into the hospital with a fever, stayed 2 days and the bill was $10,000.
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