This document is also available as a printable .pdf file. Facts on Health Insurance Coverage
Facts on the Cost of Health Insurance Coverage
Most Americans have health insurance through their employers, yet employment is no longer a guarantee of health insurance coverage. As America continues to move from a manufacturing-based economy to a service economy, and employee working patterns continue to evolve, health insurance coverage has become less stable. The service sector offers less access to health insurance than its manufacturing counterparts.
Due to rising health insurance premiums, many small employers cannot afford to offer health benefits. Companies that do offer health insurance, often require employees to contribute a larger share toward their coverage. As a result, an increasing number of Americans have opted not to take advantage of job-based health insurance because they cannot afford it.
How Many Americans Are Uninsured?
* Several studies estimate the number of uninsured Americans. According to the U.S. Census Bureau, nearly 47 million Americans, or 20 percent of the population under the age of 65, were without health insurance in 2008, their latest data available.1
* The Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality, using the Medical Expenditure Panel Survey (MEPS) estimated that the percentage of uninsured Americans under age 65 represented 27 percent of the population. According to the MEPS data, nearly 54 million Americans under the age of 65 were uninsured in the first-half of 2007. 2
* A recent study shows that based on the effects of the recession alone (not job loss), it is projected that nearly seven (7) million Americans will lose their health insurance coverage between 2008 and 2010. 3 Urban Institute researchers estimate that if unemployment reaches 10 percent, another six (6) million Americans will lose their health insurance coverage. Taking these numbers together, it is conceivable that by next year, 57 to 60 million Americans will be uninsured.
* The Urban Institute estimates that under a worse case scenario, 66 million Americans will be uninsured by 2019. 4
* Nearly 90 million people – about one-third of the population below the age of 65 spent a portion of either 2007 or 2008 without health coverage.5
Who Are the Uninsured?
* The large majority of the uninsured (85 percent) are native or naturalized citizens.6
* Nearly 1.1 million part-time workers lost their health insurance in 2008. 1
* Over 8 in 10 uninsured people come from working families – almost 70 percent from families with one or 7
* The percentage and the number of uninsured Hispanics was 31 percent and nearly 15 million in 2008.1
Why is the Number of Uninsured People Increasing?
* Even if employees are offered coverage on the job, they can’t always afford their portion of the premium. Health insurance premiums have increased 131 percent for employers since 1999 and employee spending for health insurance coverage (employee’s share of family coverage) has increased 128 percent between 1999 and 2008.7
* Rapidly rising health insurance premiums are the main reason cited by all small firms for not offering coverage. Health insurance premiums are rising at extraordinary rates. The average annual increase in inflation has been 2.5 percent while health insurance premiums for small firms have escalated an average of 12 percent annually.7
How Does Being Uninsured Harm Individuals and Families?
* Studies estimate that the number of excess deaths among uninsured adults age 25-64 is in the range of 22,000 a year. This mortality figure is more than the number of deaths from diabetes (17,500) within the same age group.8
* Lack of insurance compromises the health of the uninsured because they receive less preventive care, they are diagnosed at more advanced disease stages, and once diagnosed, tend to receive less therapeutic care and have higher mortality rates than insured individuals.9
* Controlling for age, race, sex, and income, uninsured cancer patients are 1.6 times more likely than insured patients to die within five years of diagnosis. 10
* The high cost of health care can damage the overall economic well-being of families. One in three low-income parents without coverage report medical bills have a major financial impact on their families.11
* On average, the uninsured are 9 to 10 times more likely to forgo medical care because of cost and twice as likely to have medical debt. 9
* The uninsured are increasingly paying “up front” -- before services will be rendered. When they are unable to pay the full medical bill in cash at the time of service, they can be turned away except in life-threatening circumstances.12
* Access to an emergency room for uninsured patients does not qualify as access to coordinated care. While physicians are required to stabilize patients in an emergency, they are not required to treat the condition comprehensively. 13
* Over the last decade, disparities between the uninsured and insured widened in access to a usual source of care, annual check-ups, and preventive care, and are the greatest in disparities and our growing. 6
"seems to me that the tie of health insurance to employment creates problems"
Didn't seem to be a problem since WW2 until the dawn of the "technology" age of medicine. Of course without any real cost constraints any system will fail. No one had to be concerned about covering the cost of a drug like Avastin in 1980. Now therapies that cost $20,000 to $30,000 a month are common. Do you believe a public system will be able to ration care properly? Maybe...
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