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Often times when we hear about the uninsured we imagine some poor group of people who are so desperately poor they can't afford health care insurance or find a job that provides it, but let's look a little closer.
"Roughly one quarter of those counted as uninsured — 12 million people — are eligible for Medicaid and the State Children's Health Insurance Program (S-CHIP), but haven't enrolled. This includes 64 percent of all uninsured children, and 29 percent of parents with children. Since these people would be enrolled in those programs automatically if they went to the hospital for care, calling them uninsured is really a smokescreen.
Another 10 million uninsured "Americans" are, at least technically, not Americans. Approximately 5.6 million are illegal immigrants, and another 4.4 million are legal immigrants but not citizens.
Nor are the uninsured necessarily poor. A new study by June O'Neill, former director of the Congressional Budget Office, found that 43 percent of the uninsured have incomes higher than 250 percent of the poverty level ($55,125 for a family of four). And slightly more than a third have incomes in excess of $66,000. A second study, by Mark Pauly of the University of Pennsylvania and Kate Bundorf of Stanford, concluded that nearly three-quarters of the uninsured could afford coverage but chose not to purchase it.
Only about 30 percent of the uninsured remain so for more than a year, approximately 16 percent for two years, and less than 2.5 percent are uninsured for three years or longer. About half are uninsured for six months or less. Notably, because health insurance is too often tied to employment, the working poor who cycle in and out of the job market also cycle in and out of health insurance.
For example, young, healthy, and well-off people might be more inclined to buy insurance if it cost less. That means ending regulations, like community rating, that increase the cost of insurance for younger and healthier workers; eliminating costly mandated benefits; and creating more competition by allowing people to purchase insurance across state lines.
And if people are losing their insurance when they lose their jobs, we should move away from a health care system dominated by employer-provided health insurance. That means changing the tax treatment of health insurance.
The current system excludes the value of employer-provided insurance from a worker's taxable income. However, workers purchasing health insurance on their own must do so with after-tax dollars. This provides a significant tilt toward employer-provided insurance. Workers should receive a standard deduction, a tax credit, or, better still, large Health Savings Accounts (HSAs) for the purchase of health insurance, regardless of whether they receive it through their job or purchase it on their own. Who Are the Uninsured? | Michael D. Tanner | Cato Institute: Commentary
Some important points from this are that
- In America, unlike most countries, you actually have the freedom NOT to pay for health insurance, a few people may disagree with their choice but it was their choice and we should respect it
- The vast majority of people declining insurance are NOT poor enough to afford it
- We can help best by doing real reform of reducing government's role in healthcare, rather than once again expanding it.
Often times when we hear about the uninsured we imagine some poor group of people who are so desperately poor they can't afford health care insurance or find a job that provides it, but let's look a little closer.
"Roughly one quarter of those counted as uninsured — 12 million people — are eligible for Medicaid and the State Children's Health Insurance Program (S-CHIP), but haven't enrolled. This includes 64 percent of all uninsured children, and 29 percent of parents with children. Since these people would be enrolled in those programs automatically if they went to the hospital for care, calling them uninsured is really a smokescreen.
Another 10 million uninsured "Americans" are, at least technically, not Americans. Approximately 5.6 million are illegal immigrants, and another 4.4 million are legal immigrants but not citizens.
Nor are the uninsured necessarily poor. A new study by June O'Neill, former director of the Congressional Budget Office, found that 43 percent of the uninsured have incomes higher than 250 percent of the poverty level ($55,125 for a family of four). And slightly more than a third have incomes in excess of $66,000. A second study, by Mark Pauly of the University of Pennsylvania and Kate Bundorf of Stanford, concluded that nearly three-quarters of the uninsured could afford coverage but chose not to purchase it.
Only about 30 percent of the uninsured remain so for more than a year, approximately 16 percent for two years, and less than 2.5 percent are uninsured for three years or longer. About half are uninsured for six months or less. Notably, because health insurance is too often tied to employment, the working poor who cycle in and out of the job market also cycle in and out of health insurance.
For example, young, healthy, and well-off people might be more inclined to buy insurance if it cost less. That means ending regulations, like community rating, that increase the cost of insurance for younger and healthier workers; eliminating costly mandated benefits; and creating more competition by allowing people to purchase insurance across state lines.
And if people are losing their insurance when they lose their jobs, we should move away from a health care system dominated by employer-provided health insurance. That means changing the tax treatment of health insurance.
The current system excludes the value of employer-provided insurance from a worker's taxable income. However, workers purchasing health insurance on their own must do so with after-tax dollars. This provides a significant tilt toward employer-provided insurance. Workers should receive a standard deduction, a tax credit, or, better still, large Health Savings Accounts (HSAs) for the purchase of health insurance, regardless of whether they receive it through their job or purchase it on their own. Who Are the Uninsured? | Michael D. Tanner | Cato Institute: Commentary
Some important points from this are that
- In America, unlike most countries, you actually have the freedom NOT to pay for health insurance, a few people may disagree with their choice but it was their choice and we should respect it
- The vast majority of people declining insurance are NOT poor enough to afford it
- We can help best by doing real reform of reducing government's role in healthcare, rather than once again expanding it.
So 57% of the unisured have incomes below 250% of poverty level, in other words below $55,125 for such a family. Considering someone just said on another thread that in some places $250K is "scraping by" (LOL), I think this is a pretty low income. Other studies have found that about 65% of the uninsured are involuntarily uninsured.
In this country, the "poor" have a lot bigger priorities than health care for their families. Drugs, liquor, nice cars, nice clothes, expensive athletic shoes, and lots & lots of lottery tickets-------all of these are a "must have"!
In this country, the "poor" have a lot bigger priorities than health care for their families. Drugs, liquor, nice cars, nice clothes, expensive athletic shoes, and lots & lots of lottery tickets-------all of these are a "must have"!
plus thier mindset is that bambam is gonna buy them free ins.so they can keep livin that way forever. hope real life hits them in the face. aint gonna be no free health care. its pretty sad when the gov welfare leeches live better than the hardworking people
This thread has been up all day and it was ignored. Hard to argue the facts, so the liberals just skip over it. There are poor people who truly cannot afford insurance. There are plans for them.
To suggest that somebody making 350% of the poverty level cannot afford their own insurance - well I just don't have the words.
This thread has been up all day and it was ignored. Hard to argue the facts, so the liberals just skip over it. There are poor people who truly cannot afford insurance. There are plans for them.
To suggest that somebody making 350% of the poverty level cannot afford their own insurance - well I just don't have the words.
Who's talking about 350%? The articles I have read all use 250%, (~55K for a family of four), and considering there are several threads going right now where people are asserting that $200K is "poverty" in some places, I think that is a realistic base.
Who's talking about 350%? The articles I have read all use 250%, (~55K for a family of four), and considering there are several threads going right now where people are asserting that $200K is "poverty" in some places, I think that is a realistic base.
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Life On The Edge
