Uninsured Americans

The health care crisis threatens the health and economic security of Americans. Health care costs have skyrocketed, especially in comparison to working families' wages. Deductibles and out-of-pocket costs such as co-payments are increasing rapidly; the health care services covered in insurance plans are shrinking; and some employers are dropping coverage for dependents, retirees, and even hard-working employees. As a result, changes over recent years have resulted in working families paying more and more while receiving less and less.

These changes in the economics of health care have fueled a substantial increase in the number of people who are uninsured. The latest Current Population Survey by the Census Bureau shows that there were 47 million Americans who were uninsured throughout calendar year 2006- more than the aggregate population of 24 states plus the District of Columbia. In contrast, in 2000, the number of uninsured people was 38.4 million; thus, the average annual increase in the number of uninsured people was 1.4 million.

Fast facts about the uninsured

  • A closer look at the Census Bureau CPS data reveals that, 89.6 million non-elderly Americans were uninsured for at least one month or more during the two-year period of 2006-2007.
  • Four out of five uninsured Americans are in working families.
  • One out of five uninsured Americans is a child.
  • Nearly nine out of 10 uninsured children come from families where at least one parent works.
  • In more than half of all two-parent families with uninsured children, both parents work.
  • Uninsured adults are more than 30 percent less likely than insured adults to have had a checkup in the past year.
  • Uninsured women are two times less likely than insured women to have had a pap test in the last year.
  • Uninsured adults are more likely to be diagnosed with a disease in an advanced stage. For example, uninsured women are substantially more likely to be diagnosed with advanced stage breast cancer than women with private insurance.
  • Uninsured Americans are up to three times more likely to report having problems getting needed medical care. Uninsured adults are more than three times as likely as insured adults to delay seeking medical care (47 percent versus 15 percent). And uninsured children are nearly five times more likely than insured children to have at least one delayed or unmet health care need.
  • Nearly 70 percent of uninsured adults who are in poor health, and nearly 50 percent of uninsured adults in fair health, report that when they needed care in the past year, they were unable to see a physician because of cost.
  • Uninsured people with chronic health conditions or injuries receive less care than their insured counterparts and are less than half as likely to receive any of the recommended follow-up care. For example, uninsured people with heart disease have 28 percent fewer ambulatory care visits (in physicians' offices, clinics, or hospital outpatient settings) than insured people with heart disease.
  • Previously uninsured adults report greater use of health services and require more costly care once they obtain Medicare coverage at age 65 compared to those who were previously insured.
  • Every year, the deaths of at least 22,000 people between the ages of 25 and 64 can be attributed to a lack of health insurance. This makes uninsurance the sixth leading cause of death, ahead of HIV/AIDS and diabetes
  • Uninsured children admitted to the hospital due to injuries were twice as likely to die while in the hospital as their insured counterparts. Uninsured patients are three times more likely to die in the hospital than insured patients.
  • Uninsured patients are unable to negotiate the discounts on hospital and doctor charges that insurance companies do. As a result, uninsured patients are often charged more than 2.5 times what insured patients are for hospital services
  • Nearly 40 percent of uninsured adults reported problems paying their medical bills.