Some Thoughts on the Uninsured�

I�m often bemused by politicians and hucksters (but I repeat myself) who try to equate �uninsured� with �unable to access health care.� To add insult to injury, there�s a perception that most � if not all �- such folks have little or no opportunity to purchase health insurance, or cannot afford it.

For the most part, of course, the poorest among us � who I believe we do have a duty to at least try to help � already have access to health coverage and health care, through the auspices of Medicaid (Medicare�s another can of worms). I was pleased to find that I�m not way out in left field in this:

According to the National Underwriter, �(m)any uninsured American adults are healthy, and many who are uninsured do appear to be getting some kind of medical care.� According to the article, over � of all uninsured adults (excluding those on Medicare) are free of chronic conditions. On top of that, almost � of such folks who ARE chronically ill have accessed needed medical care in the previous 12 months.

The article goes on to say that such adults �are far less likely to get any care at all, or care from a 'usual source of care,' than adults with health insurance.� Tellingly, no numbers are given for THIS conclusion, which indicates to me that it�s far less of a given than the authors would have us believe.

So what does all of this mean? Well, for one thing, it�s pretty clear that there�s no health care �crisis� here in the good ole US of A. Sure, there are problems, and the cost of insurance is one of them. And the toll � in dollars and hours � attributable to illegal aliens; sorry, undocumented foreign guests -- is immense. Finally, the burden of cost-shifting from the government onto the private sector is staggering.

But those who need care generally get care, even if it�s not from their traditional family doctor. Of course, the rest of us pay for this, but that�s another post.

But wait, there�s more! According to the Employee Benefit Research Institute in Washington, �(t)he number of high-income individuals without health insurance may not be increasing as fast as government statistics suggest .� In fact, those who earn at least $50,000 a year account for almost 1/5 of the total uninsured.

Now, $50,000 a year is not �rich.� But it is not �poor,� either. Certainly there are folks in this income range who have enormous debt�but by and large this is not a sector of the economy which one would characterize as �poverty-stricken.� There are inexpensive safety-net health plans available that are tailor-made to ensure that someone in this income range doesn�t lose his house to medical bills. Whether or not that someone chooses to purchase such a plan is, of course, another matter.