The American Public on Health Care-The Missing Perspective - (Page 42)

Coverage for the Uninsured: Children First, but Who Will Pay? The number of Americans without health insurance stands at 45.7 million (15.3%).25 To put that number in perspective: it exceeds the total population of medium-sized countries such as Spain and South Africa. A Detroit woman in nursing school who currently has no health insurance captures the paradox of the system: The Uninsured: Causes and Consequences Why are people going without insurance? Again, cost is the common denominator. Often it’s a matter of what people need most: food or shelter versus medical care. One physician in California who treats the uninsured population explains: employed (14%), their employer does not offer coverage (9%), or they are between jobs (7%) (see Figure AA). This widespread lack of health insurance is a grave concern because of the deep impact it has on personal health. The uninsured are less likely to get preventative care, which in turn makes them more likely to need hospitalization for what could have been avoidable health problems. Their diseases are generally diagnosed at later stages, making treatment more difficult—and costly—or impossible.31 The percentage of Americans who reported not getting or delaying needed medical care increased by 64% in the last four years, from 36 million in 2003 to 59 million in 2007.32 A study by the Kaiser Commission on Medicaid and the Uninsured suggests that having health insurance could reduce mortality among the uninsured by 10-15%.33 “We are the future of health care, and we have no health insurance.” The uninsured are working Americans: overwhelmingly they are U.S. citizens (78%)26 who come from families in which one or more members work full time (70%). They are not uniformly poor: two in ten are from families with annual incomes greater than $50,000.27 While adults make up 80% of the uninsured,28 children are at particular risk: nearly one in five American children living in poverty (19%) are uninsured.29 Minority communities are hit particularly hard: nonwhites are more than twice as likely as whites to lack insurance.30 “I see people who have to make trade-offs between eating and health care. I see people who have to make trade-offs between being housed and health care. And when it comes down to having to choose between basic survival needs and health care, health care is always last.” Most uninsured Americans (57%) say they simply cannot afford coverage. Another 30% cite reasons having to do with employment: they’re not 25 Accessed at: http://www.census.gov/hhes/www/hlthins/hlthin07/hlth07asc.html, 26 Kaiser Family Foundation, “The Uninsured: A Primer” , p. 4, October 2007, 27 “The Real Census Story,” The Wall Street Journal, Accessed at: http://online.wsj.com/article/ SB121979631879074825.html, 28 Kaiser, p.5, 29 Census, 30 Kaiser, p. 5 42 http://www.census.gov/hhes/www/hlthins/hlthin07/hlth07asc.html http://online.wsj.com/article/ http://www.kff.org/uninsured/upload/7451-03.pdf

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