Monday, May 24, 2004
JEC provides further clarity on uninsured
[Leah Uhlmann, The Complex Challenge of the Uninsured, Joint Economic Committee, 13 May 2004.]
There is a wealth of information on the uninsured in this recently released report from the Joint Economic Committee. Here are a few highlights:
- Methodologies for estimating the number of uninsured suffer from several shortcomings that may lead them to overestimate the number of uninsured.
- According to the CPS data, the fraction of Americans who report themselves as uninsured, while varying from year to year, has remained relatively constant over the past decade, at roughly 15% in both 1992 and 2002.
- Regulatory costs increase health expenditures by an estimated 6.4%, driving up health insurance premiums and reducing insurance coverage. One recent study estimates higher costs result in a 2.2% decrease in coverage – or almost 5 million uninsured who might otherwise be able to afford insurance coverage.
- Many in the ranks of the uninsured are between periods of employer-sponsored insurance. In fact, 50% of the uninsured regain health insurance within four months.
- Some people are offered insurance at work and choose not to take it because they feel they do not need it or because they place a higher value on other spending priorities, such as education, transportation, housing, etc.
- Many of the uninsured do not go entirely without care. Some uninsured individuals pay for care directly, from their own resources or those of friends and family. In addition, public hospitals, community health centers, facilities managed by the Department of Veterans Affairs, and other local health organizations all provide some care to the uninsured, usually with little or no compensation. In 2004, for example, the uninsured will receive $125 billion in care, purchasing $33 billion out-of-pocket and receiving $41 billion in uncompensated care.
Health insurance could be made more affordable and available by reducing the real costs of providing it and the health care services it helps to finance. Such steps would include reducing regulatory costs, which would reduce the costs of health care for all Americans, and implementing tax parity for nonworkers, which would level the playing-field for Americans who do not have access to employer-provided insurance.
Health Savings Accounts (HSAs) are a good example of an insurance product that is affordable – due to the lower premiums accompanying high deductible health plan coverage - yet create an incentive for spending wisely – due to the savings aspect of the plans. The tax-preferred savings account mitigates the problem of job transition since funds can be drawn upon between employment opportunities. Because of their low cost and flexibility, HSAs could provide a viable insurance plan alternative for many of the uninsured.
Policymakers should not target the uninsured as a single group that is “typical.” Americans of all walks of life become uninsured because of a host of different reasons: the cost of insurance to themselves or their employer, the limitations of the employer-based insurance system, and, in some cases, calculated decisions about the importance of insurance relative to other spending priorities.
[Matthew Hisrich, "Greatest increase in uninsured found among wealthy," The Flint Hills Center, 10 May 2004.]
[Leah Uhlmann, The Complex Challenge of the Uninsured, Joint Economic Committee, 13 May 2004.]
There is a wealth of information on the uninsured in this recently released report from the Joint Economic Committee. Here are a few highlights:
- Methodologies for estimating the number of uninsured suffer from several shortcomings that may lead them to overestimate the number of uninsured.
- According to the CPS data, the fraction of Americans who report themselves as uninsured, while varying from year to year, has remained relatively constant over the past decade, at roughly 15% in both 1992 and 2002.
- Regulatory costs increase health expenditures by an estimated 6.4%, driving up health insurance premiums and reducing insurance coverage. One recent study estimates higher costs result in a 2.2% decrease in coverage – or almost 5 million uninsured who might otherwise be able to afford insurance coverage.
- Many in the ranks of the uninsured are between periods of employer-sponsored insurance. In fact, 50% of the uninsured regain health insurance within four months.
- Some people are offered insurance at work and choose not to take it because they feel they do not need it or because they place a higher value on other spending priorities, such as education, transportation, housing, etc.
- Many of the uninsured do not go entirely without care. Some uninsured individuals pay for care directly, from their own resources or those of friends and family. In addition, public hospitals, community health centers, facilities managed by the Department of Veterans Affairs, and other local health organizations all provide some care to the uninsured, usually with little or no compensation. In 2004, for example, the uninsured will receive $125 billion in care, purchasing $33 billion out-of-pocket and receiving $41 billion in uncompensated care.
Health insurance could be made more affordable and available by reducing the real costs of providing it and the health care services it helps to finance. Such steps would include reducing regulatory costs, which would reduce the costs of health care for all Americans, and implementing tax parity for nonworkers, which would level the playing-field for Americans who do not have access to employer-provided insurance.
Health Savings Accounts (HSAs) are a good example of an insurance product that is affordable – due to the lower premiums accompanying high deductible health plan coverage - yet create an incentive for spending wisely – due to the savings aspect of the plans. The tax-preferred savings account mitigates the problem of job transition since funds can be drawn upon between employment opportunities. Because of their low cost and flexibility, HSAs could provide a viable insurance plan alternative for many of the uninsured.
Policymakers should not target the uninsured as a single group that is “typical.” Americans of all walks of life become uninsured because of a host of different reasons: the cost of insurance to themselves or their employer, the limitations of the employer-based insurance system, and, in some cases, calculated decisions about the importance of insurance relative to other spending priorities.
[Matthew Hisrich, "Greatest increase in uninsured found among wealthy," The Flint Hills Center, 10 May 2004.]
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