Doctoring The Truth About The Uninsured

This article from the Pacific Research Institute is a few years old now, but since we continue to talk about the ’46 million uninsured,’ I’d like to share some statistics . . .

. . . a fourth of the 35 million uninsured adults are under 24, and half are under 35.

And the uninsured aren’t the same people from year to year or even month to month. Three-quarters of the uninsured remain so for less than a year.

. . . the percentage of uninsured Americans remains at 15.6%, the same as in 1996, and lower than in 1997 and 1998 . . .

One of every three uninsured live in households with incomes of more than $50,000 a year. One in seven live in households with annual incomes that top $75,000.

. . . the Census Bureau counts as “uninsured” individuals who are eligible for Medicaid and the State Children’s Health Insurance Program but are not enrolled. Deven Herrick of the National Center for Policy Analysis estimates that as many as 14 million children and adults fall into this category.

If we are going to debate this issue and attempt legislative solutions based on the number of ‘uninsured,’ we should at least have a greater understanding of who encompasses this population.