WASHINGTON, AUG. 28, 2007
- Look closely behind the Census Bureau numbers of the
uninsured, now estimated at 47 million, or 15.8 percent of the
population. How one diagnoses the problem will largely determine
how one prescribes the remedy. For those in Congress who want a
government health care monopoly, the answer is simple:
progressively expand government control over the entire health care
sector of the economy, and push persons out of private health
coverage, beginning with a robust expansion of the State Childrens'
Health Insurance Program(SCHIP). For Americans who want to
take personal control over their health care decisions, a more
sophisticated policy is required. Meanwhile, in reading the
Census Bureau numbers, policymakers should bear three things in
mind:
- The Census
Bureau data is misleading. The Census Bureau's Current
Population Survey (CPS) is a misleading measure of those who lack
health insurance in America and an imprecise tool for analyzing the
dimensions of the problem. Analysis of data from earlier Census
Bureau and other government reports shows that roughly 7 million
are illegal immigrants; roughly 9 million are persons on Medicaid;
3.5 million are persons already eligible for government health
programs; and approximately 20 million have, or live, in families
with incomes greater than twice the federal poverty level, or
$41,300 for a family of four.
- Most of the uninsured are in and out of health coverage.
The professional literature also shows that, overwhelmingly,
the vast majority of the uninsured are persons who are in and out
of coverage, largely as a result of job changes. Only a small
number of the uninsured are chronically uninsured. For most of the
uninsured, the problem is fixable if policymakers simply
take steps to make health insurance portable, so the insurance
policy sticks to the person, not the job.
- Current Federal Tax Policy Fuels Uninsurance. A
substantial portion of uninsured Americans are not poor but rather
middle-class working Americans who are forced to face a major tax
penalty, resulting in premium increases of 40 to 50 percent, if
they do not obtain health insurance through the place of work. For
millions of Americans without job based health insurance, both the
tax policy, and the excessive regulatory burden on health insurance
in the states, prices families out of coverage. Current federal tax
policy then unnecessarily drives millions into the ranks of the
uninsured.