Kansas Health

One-size fits all approach will not help the diverse uninsured population

[Merrill Matthews and Grace-Marie Turner, "No Single Solution Will Protect Health of the Uninsured," The Galen Institute, 5 May 2005.]

Talk of "the uninsured" makes it easy to lump together a group of people with very different backgrounds and needs. Any public policy effort to address the problem must take into account this diversity. Merrill Matthews and Grace Marie Turner offer up some key considerations in this recent column:

- The percentage of uninsured has remained relatively constant over the years: 15 percent.

- People are uninsured for relatively short periods of time.

- Most of the uninsured are workers.

- The uninsured tend to be young and healthy.

- Some of the uninsured have high incomes.

- The uninsured and the uninsurable are not the same.

- The number of uninsured varies significantly from state to state.

- Being uninsured does not mean no access to health care.

Yes, we do need a solution for the 45 million uninsured Americans - or better yet "solutions." But they must be targeted to address the varying problems listed above. What won't work is a single solution. The uninsured are different, and the solutions must be also.

[Matthew Hisrich, "Using tax credits to cover the uninsured," The Flint Hills Center, 4 May 2005.]