Over the last 15 years, nearly every state has seen increased numbers of uninsured residents, greater costs for workers while their incomes are flat, and significant erosion of private coverage.
"At the Brink: Trends in America’s Uninsured 1994-2007," a new report by the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation, chronicles state health coverage trends. The analysis documents the deteriorating scenario unfolding since 1994.
“The case for reform couldn’t be clearer,” said Risa Lavizzo-Mourey, MD, MBA, president and CEO of the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation. “Further (Congressional) inaction means that costs rise, businesses struggle and workers go without. As high as the numbers of uninsured people seem to be, they don’t even reflect the current crisis with millions of Americans losing their jobs, which puts their insurance status in jeopardy.”
The report was prepared by the State Health Access Data Assistance Center (SHADAC) at the University of Minnesota. Researchers averaged data from the U.S. Census Bureau from 1994-96 and compared it with average figures from 2006-2007. The report shows:
- More Americans are uninsured. Nationwide, the total number of uninsured has increased to 45.7 million. Across the Unoited States, 22 percent of men are uninsured, up from 19 percent, and 18 percent of women are uninsured, up from 16 percent.
- The number of working uninsured adults has increased by more than 6 million, to 26.9 million. Currently, nearly one in five working adults (18 percent) is uninsured.
- The rate of uninsured children has fallen by 13 percent, to 9.2 million – which experts attribute to more children being covered by government insurance programs like Medicaid and the Children’s Health Insurance Program (SCHIP).
- The percentage of non-elderly people who have private insurance has dropped to 67 percent, down from 73 percent. Alaska, North Carolina, Utah, Vermont and Virginia have all seen the number of privately insured residents erode by 10 percent or more.
- The cost of an individual insurance policy has increased 61 percent – from $2,560 in 1996 to $4,118 in 2006. Nationwide, the amount that employees pay for an individual policy has increased 79 percent, with wages increasing just 10 percent over the period.
“The rising cost of healthcare has largely been borne by workers who are not getting raises because of it and employers who are seeing these costs eat into their profit margins,” said Lavizzo-Mourey. “Fixing our broken healthcare system is a critical part of fixing the economy, but it will not happen overnight and it won’t be easy."
The report is being released during Cover the Uninsured Week, a nonpartisan campaign organized by RWJF to advocate for health coverage for all Americans.