Will everyone have to buy health insurance? What happens if they don't? How will people prove they have health insurance? - Kaiser Health Reform:
"Will everyone have to buy health insurance? What happens if they don't? How will people prove they have health insurance?"
Five Basic Facts on the Uninsured
http://www.kff.org/uninsured/upload/7806-02.pdf
About 46 million people in the U.S. lack health insurance and enabling more people to
gain coverage has been a focus of policy efforts at the state and national levels. This
brief provides basic facts that explain why so many people lack coverage and how being
uninsured affects their health and financial security.
Most of the 46 million uninsured are in working families and do not have access to
employer-sponsored insurance.
Eight in ten of the uninsured live in families with at least one worker. Uninsured workers
typically do not have employer-sponsored insurance offered through their jobs and
cannot access it through a family member.
Nine in ten of the uninsured are in low- or moderate-income families.
About two-thirds of the uninsured have incomes below 200% of the federal poverty level
(about $44,050 for a family of four in 2008). Only one in ten of the uninsured are above
400% of poverty. Since the average annual cost of employer-sponsored family coverage
in 2009 was $13,375, many can only afford coverage if they receive sizable employer
contributions.
Medicaid has played a key role in preventing more Americans from becoming
uninsured.
In 2008, the number of people with Medicaid increased and helped to offset declines in
private coverage. Medicaid coverage is primarily available to low-income children,
parents, pregnant women, people with disabilities, and the elderly. Most non-disabled
adults under age 65 who do not have dependent children are not eligible for Medicaid
regardless of their income.
The uninsured suffer from negative health consequences due to their lack of access
to necessary medical care.
About one-quarter of uninsured adults go without needed care due to cost each year. The
uninsured are less likely than those with insurance to receive preventive care and services
for major health conditions—which leads to more serious health problems for many.
Medical bills are a burden for the uninsured and frequently leave them with debt.
The uninsured often face unaffordable medical bills when they do seek care. When they
receive care, the uninsured pay for more than one-third of their care out-of-pocket and are
often charged higher amounts for their care than the insured pay. These bills can quickly
translate into unaffordable levels of medical debt since most of the uninsured have low or
moderate incomes and have little, if any, savings.
The Henry J. Kaiser Family Foundation
Headquarters
2400 Sand Hill Road
Menlo Park, CA 94025
(650) 854-9400 Fax: (650) 854-4800
Washington Of?ces and
Barbara Jordan Conference Center
1330 G Street, NW,
Washington, DC 20005
(202) 347-5270 Fax: (202) 347-5274
This publication (#7806-02) is available on the Kaiser Family Foundation’s website at www.kff.org.
The Kaiser Family Foundation is a non-profit private operating foundation, based in Menlo Park, California,
dedicated to producing and communicating the best possible analysis and information on health issues.
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