Posted on 08/31/2005 3:17:32 PM PDT by wagglebee
Countering the commonly held notion that Americans who don’t have health insurance can’t afford it, the Census Bureau reports that nearly one-third of those without insurance live in households with an annual income of $50,000 or more.
About 16 million Americans in $50,000-plus households – more than 13 percent of the total – lack insurance, as do 8 million earning more than $75,000 a year. The number of uninsured people in $75,000-plus households actually went up by 114 percent over a recent 9-year period, while those in households with incomes under $25,000 fell by 17 percent.
The new Census Bureau report also reveals:
* About 14 million uninsured adults and children are currently eligible for government medical coverage, such as Medicaid, but have not enrolled in any program.
* The parents of 5 million eligible children have failed to enroll them.
* For people who lack insurance for a period of time, about 75 percent are without it for less than a year.
* 11.8 million of the uninsured are foreign-born, and 9.5 million of those are non-citizens.
Most people can afford insurance but choose not to buy it so they can spend money on other stuff. They would rather take a handout from more responsible workers.
The 8 M is a subset of the 16 M. And the 14 M, you cannot tell how many are part of the 16 M. So leave that out.
But the 9.5 M illegals all probably earn less than $40 K, so they can be added in total. So the number is:
45-16-9.5= 19.5 M poor uninsured.
Years ago my favorite Senator, the Honorable Jesse Helms, was lambasted for saying that there were a lot of healthy young people in North Carolina, who, when given the choice between health insurance and making payments on a bass boat, would buy the boat.
(Probably better for their mental health)
Actually, while the article provides facts, these facts are not the essential ones.
There was another analysis that placed the "uninsured" in proper perspective. It subdivided the uninsured into several categories. Here's what it revealed.
1) Temporarily uninsured families (father or mother between jobs) comprised more than half of the 40 million uninsured, I think around 25 million. They bet on the come that they will get a job, and health coverage soon, so they don't pay for COBRA coverage from their former employer. Typical duration of no coverage is 4 months. Income levels are probably $40-100K/year, so some but not all are hovering near the poverty line.
2) Young adults, 20s and early 30s, self-employed or living with their parents, about 5 million. These people don't get health insurance from their workplace (non-professional jobs like Starbucks, lifeguard, IT outsourcing, temporary-secretary), and they bet on the come that they won't need medical care -- so they don't buy a $6,000 annual policy out of their pocket. [It's a good bet. If an American got through childhood and teen years without major health problems, it is extremely unlikely -- barring an auto accident -- that they will need insurance until they hit middle age.]
3) Illegal aliens, 10 million. But they get care anyway, by state-funded assistance programs. All they have to do is show up at emergency rooms.
4) That leaves only about 5 million chronically uninsured Americans. Many of them are mentally ill. Don't forget, American poor get Medicare.
The 40 million uninsured has always been a scam. All it takes is a little analysis, or as Dennis Prager always says, "think a second time."
The same analysis tears apart the "4,000 American kids that die each year due to guns." Don't get me started on that one unless you really want to hear it.
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