Low-Income Workers Lacking Health InsuranceJuly 2008
When we hear that more than 47 million Americans don't have
medical insurance, it's easy to believe that those are people who aren't employed. After all, 60% of health care plans today are offered by employers, and in the past it was through employment that all Americans got coverage.
But this just isn't the case. Today, millions of America's working poor are uninsured. That is to say, many people who work hard in lower paying jobs aren't getting medical insurance anymore.
And of course, it's costing all of us.
The rising costs of health insurance have made it difficult, if not impossible, for many employers to offer coverage. Today, only 41% of workers who make less than $10 dollars an hour have employer-provided medical insurance. The rest are either working in jobs that don't offer health insurance, or are working multiple part-time jobs with the same effect: no coverage.
And like everyone else, these workers do get sick. As a result, local hospitals and governments must struggle to provide health care services to uninsured workers.
The Institute of Medicine has estimated that by providing
health insurance to those without coverage, we would save between $65 billion and $130 billion a year due to increased life expectancies and worker productivity, and lower healthcare costs.
Facts on:
Medical Insurance
Did you know...
Costs for employer-sponsored health insurance increased by 13.9% between 2002 and 2003?
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The cost for the uninsured is so high because often these are individuals who don't go to a hospital (they can't afford to) until something goes terribly wrong. Then, they are usually very sick, and need costlier treatment than those who enjoy medical insurance and the preventative care that that entails.
This in turn leads to missed time from work, lost productivity, and an even greater burden for both employers and employees to overcome.
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