Health Insurance, Uninsured Facts & Statistics

In 2010, with health care and health care reform such a hot topic, many people are looking deeper into their own health insurance--or lack thereof. Luckily, many Americans don't have to worry much about their coverage. However, there are millions of Americans who think and worry about the fact that they have no health coverage at all on a daily basis.

The Uninsured

• As of 2010, the government estimates more than 45 million people in the United States have no health insurance. According to the Kaiser Family Foundation, of these people, 34 percent are above (or well above) the poverty line. About 80 percent of those who are uninsured, or eight in 10 of those without health care, are working or have at least one working adult in the family, states the KFF.

  These people are simply not offered health insurance through their employers. The KFF states that "since the average annual cost of employer-sponsored family coverage in 2007 was $12,106, those with lower incomes can only afford coverage if they receive sizable employer contributions." Because purchasing a good health care plan can be extremely expensive, most uninsured people simply cannot afford it. Those affected most are young adults and low-income families. According to the KFF, the highest uninsured group are young adults between the ages of 19 and 29, making up 29 percent of all those uninsured.

Ineligible for Medicaid

• According to the Kaiser Family Foundation, "Medicaid coverage is primarily available to low-income children, parents, pregnant women, people with disabilities and the elderly." Therefore, nondisabled adults who have no children, or any dependent children, and are under the age of 65 are not qualified for Medicaid. This includes those who live well under the poverty line. The KFF states that due to "confusion over who qualifies for Medicaid or SCHIP [State Children's Health Insurance Program] and an enrollment process that can be difficult to navigate have left one-quarter of the uninsured without coverage, despite being eligible for these programs." Despite the efforts of some states that have tried to expand eligibility and raise awareness of Medicaid to help insure those who may be eligible for coverage, "federal rules and state budget constraints have limited these efforts," says the KFF.

Preexisting Conditions

• One huge issue concerning health insurance is preexisting conditions. According to the Commonwealth Fund, more than 13 million Americans have be denied health insurance because of preexisting conditions. These preexisting conditions can include serious afflictions like cancer and AIDS to minor issues like a bladder infection. If someone is denied health care for a preexisting condition like cancer, AIDS and other serious health problems, they're left with either astronomical debt or simply stop going to the doctor for treatment and medication.

Average Cost of Hospital Bill

• Because so many Americans are denied health insurance for preexisting conditions, or are given coverage that specifically denies coverage for the preexisting condition(s), they are forced to pay out-of-pocket for their hospital bills. Although the cost of different kinds of procedures differ from state to state and hospital to hospital, MSN Money reports that the average price of gastric-bypass surgery in the South is almost $60,000; and in the Midwest, a defibrillator implant can cost you just under $100,000. The "price" of cancer is even higher. According to the American Cancer Society, one brand of a cancer drug prescription can cost more than $2,000 a month alone, while some cancer treatments can cost well over $1 million.

The Cost of Not Going to the Doctor

• Some uninsured Americans--about 25 percent, according to the Kaiser Family Foundation--simply receive no care whatsoever. Instead of going into debt or using your life savings for hospital bills, surgeries or treatments, more people are deciding to have no needed medical at all. According to the KFF, this "lack of access to timely care causes more than 20,000 uninsured adults to die prematurely each year." The KFF also states that the uninsured are three to four times more likely to not receive any preventative care or a yearly physical. During these preventative screenings are where many cancers, diabetes and heart disease are often seen and caught in time for life-saving treatments. The cost of not going to the doctor can be catastrophic; and for an estimated 22,000 people in 2008 under the age of 65, the cost of not going to the doctor was death.