STUMPTALK: The number of uninsured Americans is a hoax

Crossville Chronicle ^ | 7/6/2009 | Jim Sykes

[Badabing Badablonde]

The widely claimed number of uninsured Americans is dishonest and misleading. A study released by the Employment Policies Institute (EPI) on June 23, 2009 shows that 43 percent of the claimed 47 million uninsured Americans can afford medical insurance and elect to remain “voluntarily uninsured.”

At least 18 million of the uninsured are under the age of 35 and earn more than enough to purchase health insurance that would cost less than $100 per month. Many of the uninsured qualify for health care coverage through SCHIP, Medicaid or other existing government programs but for whatever reason, about 11 million simply refuse to take advantage of these taxpayer-funded programs. About 2 million of the remaining Americans receive health care as inmates in our prison system since they use jail, penitentiary or prison mailing addresses. Many of the remaining uninsured would never obtain insurance even if it were offered; they are illegal residents, prostitutes and drug addicts. All of these residents currently receive good medical care in emergency rooms or free clinics.

The actual number of Americans who desire and cannot obtain health insurance is estimated to be about 8 million. By law, emergency rooms must provide health care to patients; not differentiating between legal or illegal and these patients receive the same high quality health care as those who have insurance. Being without health insurance does not mean being without health care.

[Badabing Badablonde]

Have not checked out EPI yet....never heard of it before.

[Graybeard58]

At least 18 million of the uninsured are under the age of 35 and earn more than enough to purchase health insurance that would cost less than $100 per month.

Less than $100 per month? Yeah, right.

[DaveTesla]

Here is their report:
http://www.epionline.org/studies/oneill_06-2009.pdf

[Badabing Badablonde]

http://www.epionline.org/study_detail.cfm?sid=122 They zeroed in on a pet peeve of mine:

A productive conversation about health policy must also separate the concept of a lack of health coverage from a lack of healthcare. Individuals without adequate health insurance still receive medical care from a variety of sources.

I am so tired of hearing about the healthcare crisis. There is no healthcare crisis. What we DO have is a government-manufactured healthcare-coverage crisis.

[Tammy8]

I am convinced the largest number of uninsured in this country are illegals. Illegals are the elephant in the room when healthcare and social service costs are debated and few want to bring it up. We have no obligation to allow them to overwhelm our healthcare system like we do.

[Prince of Space]

A young adult can get a basic BCBS-type plan for about 100 bucks but it doesn’t include pre-existing conditions for at least a year. I did research on this to try to obtain coverage for my self-employed daughter after she graduated from college.

[Badabing Badablonde]

How much is a standard HSA running these days? My son was dropped from my policy on his 22nd birthday, and HSA seems to be the best route to go for him.

[buck61]

Illegals are the elephant in the room when healthcare and social service costs are debated and few want to bring it up

So right ! and, we all ready have socialized med. in America.
Just go to any emergency room, sit and watch the clientele interning for free service. Any hospital has to see every patient interning and they must treat them, many do not pay.

I totally agree with your summation, illegals make up the total for gov. figures.

[NEMDF]

Interestingly, the number of so-called “uninsured” was being touted as 47 million for the past many months. Then in April, a new $.63/pack cigarette tax was presumably making it possible to take 11 million children off the “uninsured” rolls, but no one quoting the so-called figures has ever reduced the 47 million by the 11 million who were somehow being picked up due to the new cigarette tax revenues. Why is no one asking about these things?

[Badabing Badablonde]

Another point that the article makes is the so-called link to health outcomes and lack of coverage. While there is proof of healthcare outcomes disparities between the insured and uninsured, the same disparities can be found in countries where socialized medicine supposedly reduces the number of uninsured. So an increase in coverage is not necessarily going to make ths country healthier. (even though the causal links for disparities might be different between private pay countries and socialized countries).

[TC Rider]

The late Jesse Helms put it well, “There’s some people who would rather make a payment on a new bass boat than buy health insurance.”

[bgill]

Being without health insurance does not mean being without health care.

Bingo!

I agree illegals are the biggest problem. They were what bankrupted our local hospital many years ago. Since then, there hasn't been a hospital in the entire county.

[Cletus.D.Yokel]

I’ve always wondered if they are also counting all the adults who choose no insurance because they are covered by their spouse’s or parents insurance (to intentionally inflate the number).