Daily News Updates - Health Insurance News

Finding Answers About the Uninsured, Pt.4 – Surprising findings.

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To sum up the “multi-colinearity”, the stats from the 90’s may have been in transit, those without health insurance (about 75% of them) were not the same people from year to year. Those without health insurance in present times are, most likely, the same people from year to year. These have very different implications. How do these numbers break down? Seemingly, the assumption was they were all poor (with household with an annual income of under $25,000). According to Dr. Gratzer’s book, that would be wrong. The book states that the percentage of this segment went down in the last ten years by about 24%. The current level of that segment is about 14 million Americans. Interestingly BlueCross/BlueShield “estimates up to 14 million uninsured adults and children qualified for government programs in 2004 but had not enrolled.” The inference is that millions of people could have health insurance but, perhaps because they are unknowing or don’t feel the need, “just haven’t signed up”.

Another assumption is that every employee that is offered employer-based health insurance gets it. Here, Dr. Gratzer’s book starkly disagrees again. The book states that, as many as, ten million of this segment simply turn it down. That amounts to, as much as, 21% of the 47 million Americans without health insurance. Of course the reasons are varied. One reason may be discontent with the health insurance packages offered. So, if these figures are anywhere close, what could motivate these 24 million (14 + 10 million from the two segments above), 51% of the total 47 million who have access to health insurance, but still don’t have it?

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