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The uninsured: a primer : key facts about Americans without health insurance
The uninsured: a primer : key facts about Americans without health insurance
- Collection:
- Health Policy and Services Research
- Author(s):
- Streeter, Sonya, author
Licata, Rachel, author
Newkirk, Vann, author
Garfield, Rachel, author
Lawton, Emily, author
McGrath, Megan, author - Contributor(s):
- Henry J. Kaiser Family Foundation, issuing body.
Kaiser Commission on Medicaid and the Uninsured, issuing body. - Publication:
- Menlo Park, CA : Henry J. Kaiser Family Foundation, October 2012
- Language(s):
- English
- Format:
- Text
- Subject(s):
- Insurance Coverage -- statistics & numerical data
Insurance, Health -- statistics & numerical data
Medically Uninsured -- statistics & numerical data
United States
United States. - Genre(s):
- Technical Report
- Abstract:
- In 2011, 48 million nonelderly Americans were uninsured. Nearly all of the elderly are insured by Medicare, yet nearly 690,000 of the elderly were uninsured in 2011. A majority of the nonelderly receive their health insurance as a job benefit, but not everyone has access to or can afford this type of coverage. Few people can afford to purchase coverage on their own through the non-group market. Medicaid and the Children’s Health Insurance Program (CHIP) fill in gaps in the availability of coverage for millions of people, in particular, children. More than one in six (18%) of the nonelderly was uninsured in 2011 (Figure 1). The gaps in our health insurance system affect people of all ages, races and ethnicities, and income levels; however, those with the lowest income face the greatest risk of being uninsured. Despite strong ties to the workforce—more than three-quarters of the uninsured population live in working families— almost four out of ten of the uninsured are individuals and families who are poor (incomes less than the federal poverty level of $22,350 for a family of four in 2011). Being uninsured affects people’s access to needed medical care and their financial security. The access barriers facing uninsured people mean they are less likely to receive preventive care, are more likely to be hospitalized for conditions that could have been prevented, and are more likely to die in the hospital than those with insurance. The financial impact can also be severe. Uninsured families struggle financially to meet basic needs and medical bills can quickly lead to medical debt. Over the next five years, the Affordable Care Act (ACA) of 2010 is expected to reduce the uninsured rate by more than half.1 The ACA will fill existing gaps in coverage by providing for an expansion of Medicaid for adults with incomes at or below 138% of poverty, building on employer-based coverage, and providing premium subsidies to make private insurance more affordable for many with incomes less than 400% of poverty. This primer presents basic information about the uninsured population—who they are and why they do not have health coverage—and provides an understanding of the difference health insurance makes in people’s lives. The Uninsured: A Primer also discusses how and why the number of uninsured people has changed and how the ACA will impact those without health coverage.
- Copyright:
- Reproduced with permission of the copyright holder. Further use of the material is subject to CC BY license. (More information)
- Extent:
- 1 online resource (1 PDF file (40 pages))
- Illustrations:
- Illustrations
- NLM Unique ID:
- 101619987 (See catalog record)
- Permanent Link:
- http://resource.nlm.nih.gov/101619987