Friday, September 03, 2004
Clarifying the crisis
[Karen Garloch, "A growing ailment: No insurance," The Wichita Eagle (originally published in The Charlotte Observer), 1 September 2004.]
Media reports on the number of uninsured paint a picture of a nation in crisis. Take this article recently posted on The Eagle's sight:
After losing two jobs since 1999, Jim Samarco now works 20 hours a week for one of his former employers, but has no health insurance.
It's been hard for the 60-year-old Huntersville, N.C., man, who has suffered severe clinical depression and also needs prescription drugs to control high blood pressure, high cholesterol and acid reflux disease.
He said he doesn't earn enough to pay for medicines or buy insurance for himself and his wife, Debbie, 48, who also works part time. They have found help through a free clinic, but would rather not have to take handouts.
"It's been a very humiliating, humbling experience," Jim Samarco said.
The Samarcos are among 45 million people nationwide who have no health insurance.
That number increased by about 1.4 million people in 2003, according to Census Bureau statistics. That means 15.6 percent of Americans lacked health insurance last year, up from 15.2 percent the year before.
According to The National Center for Policy Analysis, however, this experience is the exception rather than the rule:
About 270 million people, accounting for about 94 percent of the population, either have health insurance or have access to it. The breakdown is:
- More than 84 percent (243.3 million) of the 288 million U.S. residents are privately insured or are enrolled in a government health program, such as Medicare, Medicaid or the State Children’s Health Insurance Programs (SCHIP).
- An additional 10 million to 14 million adults and children qualify for government programs (Medicaid and CHIP) but have not enrolled.
- Another 15 million live in households with annual incomes above $50,000 and likely could afford health insurance.
By these estimates, about 9 percent theoretically have access but have chosen to forgo insurance. The remaining portion, just over six percent of the population, earn less than $50,000 annually.
A better way to look health coverage may be to count the number of people with health insurance for the past few years. The proportion of people without health insurance was about the same in 2003 (15.6 percent) as is was a decade earlier (15.3 percent in 1993). However, the number of people without health coverage increased by about 5.8 million people to 45 million, largely due to population growth. Typically, those who lack insurance are uninsured for only a short period of time — 75 percent of uninsured spells are over in one year or less.
Over the past 10 years, the fastest growing segment of the uninsured population has been among middle and upper income families. The ranks of the uninsured in households earning between $50,000 and $75,000 increased by 49 percent and for households earning above $75,000 increased by 128 percent. The numbers of uninsured among these higher income households actually increased by almost seven million.
Government policies that drive up the cost of health insurance partly explain why millions of people forgo coverage.
[M]any of the uninsured who don’t consider health care a “good buy” may change their mind now that health savings accounts (HSAs) are available. These personal health accounts allow unused funds to be rolled over for use in future years. HSAs will make coverage more affordable for healthy and young workers, who will find insurance more attractive if they know their money isn’t wasted if they don’t need care in any particular year.
[Matthew Hisrich, "No Crisis Ahead for Uninsured," Letter to the Editor, The Wichita Eagle, 30 June 2004.]
[Karen Garloch, "A growing ailment: No insurance," The Wichita Eagle (originally published in The Charlotte Observer), 1 September 2004.]
Media reports on the number of uninsured paint a picture of a nation in crisis. Take this article recently posted on The Eagle's sight:
After losing two jobs since 1999, Jim Samarco now works 20 hours a week for one of his former employers, but has no health insurance.
It's been hard for the 60-year-old Huntersville, N.C., man, who has suffered severe clinical depression and also needs prescription drugs to control high blood pressure, high cholesterol and acid reflux disease.
He said he doesn't earn enough to pay for medicines or buy insurance for himself and his wife, Debbie, 48, who also works part time. They have found help through a free clinic, but would rather not have to take handouts.
"It's been a very humiliating, humbling experience," Jim Samarco said.
The Samarcos are among 45 million people nationwide who have no health insurance.
That number increased by about 1.4 million people in 2003, according to Census Bureau statistics. That means 15.6 percent of Americans lacked health insurance last year, up from 15.2 percent the year before.
According to The National Center for Policy Analysis, however, this experience is the exception rather than the rule:
About 270 million people, accounting for about 94 percent of the population, either have health insurance or have access to it. The breakdown is:
- More than 84 percent (243.3 million) of the 288 million U.S. residents are privately insured or are enrolled in a government health program, such as Medicare, Medicaid or the State Children’s Health Insurance Programs (SCHIP).
- An additional 10 million to 14 million adults and children qualify for government programs (Medicaid and CHIP) but have not enrolled.
- Another 15 million live in households with annual incomes above $50,000 and likely could afford health insurance.
By these estimates, about 9 percent theoretically have access but have chosen to forgo insurance. The remaining portion, just over six percent of the population, earn less than $50,000 annually.
A better way to look health coverage may be to count the number of people with health insurance for the past few years. The proportion of people without health insurance was about the same in 2003 (15.6 percent) as is was a decade earlier (15.3 percent in 1993). However, the number of people without health coverage increased by about 5.8 million people to 45 million, largely due to population growth. Typically, those who lack insurance are uninsured for only a short period of time — 75 percent of uninsured spells are over in one year or less.
Over the past 10 years, the fastest growing segment of the uninsured population has been among middle and upper income families. The ranks of the uninsured in households earning between $50,000 and $75,000 increased by 49 percent and for households earning above $75,000 increased by 128 percent. The numbers of uninsured among these higher income households actually increased by almost seven million.
Government policies that drive up the cost of health insurance partly explain why millions of people forgo coverage.
[M]any of the uninsured who don’t consider health care a “good buy” may change their mind now that health savings accounts (HSAs) are available. These personal health accounts allow unused funds to be rolled over for use in future years. HSAs will make coverage more affordable for healthy and young workers, who will find insurance more attractive if they know their money isn’t wasted if they don’t need care in any particular year.
[Matthew Hisrich, "No Crisis Ahead for Uninsured," Letter to the Editor, The Wichita Eagle, 30 June 2004.]
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