The Census Bureau’s annual snapshot out today shows there were 50.7 million, or 16.7 percent of the population, without health coverage in 2009. These numbers come as the nation experiences a growing shift from private health coverage to more expansive public health programs. Given today’s high rates of unemployment and the fact that most Americans get health insurance through their employers, the increased number of uninsureds comes as no surprise. The exodus from job-based insurance will only escalate under Obamacare. The CMS actuary estimates that, under the president’s system, approximately …
Imagine if Washington applied Obamacare’s regulatory approach to car sales. Forget choosing your ride based on your own needs and what you can afford. Instead, your wheels would be dictated by what Uncle Sam thought was best for you. For example, you might want—and be willing to pay for—a Mercedes, but Obamacare Motors would let you buy only a Daewoo. That’s how Obamacare will affect choice in health care coverage. One provision bars insurance companies from putting a limit on how much they will pay in medical claims. This may …
Most everyone agrees that decreasing the number of the uninsured is an important goal of health care legislation. What is not agreed upon is the best way to achieve that goal. Obama’s health care plan depends on expanding the number of Americans enrolled in Medicaid – the government-run program for the poor and disabled. The Congressional Budget Office (CBO) estimates the Senate bill would account for about 50 percent of the reduction in the uninsured population at a cost of $395 billion over 10 years. New research by Heritage’s health …
Confronted by discrepancies in the number of jobs created by the stimulus bill, officials in the Obama Administration eventually were forced to concede that their numbers could not stand up to scrutiny. Unfortunately, the lesson appears to have been lost on the Department of Health and Human Services (DHHS) in its exuberance to fire up public support for health care legislation. Once again, the Administration appears to be fudging the numbers. The Administration’s website, HealthReform.Gov, which is maintained by DHHS, includes a feature, Health Insurance Reform and Your State: The …
Fact checking President Barack Obama’s health care speech from last night, the Associated Press reports: “The president’s speech to Congress contained a variety of oversimplifications and omissions in laying out what he wants to do about health insurance.” That is an understatement. We counted no less than 10 spurious claims made by the President, including: 1. OBAMA: “There are now more than thirty million American citizens who cannot get coverage.” THE FACTS: On August 8th, President Obama said: “Reform is obviously essential for the 46 million Americans who don’t have …
Today the U.S. Census Bureau released its annual estimate of the uninsured. While there is always valid discussion and debate over the number of uninsured (for recent analyses click here and here), an important component that gets overlooked is the emerging trend within existing sources of coverage. This year’s census numbers expose a troubling shift: government programs continue to gain ground while private insurance is on the decline. There are a variety of reasons for this change — including expansions of public programs, like Medicaid and SCHIP, and the early …
You hear or read the number all the time. The New York Times breathlessly reports there are 46 million uninsured Americans and President Barack Obama routinely asserts the same number. The Census Bureau estimates, however, do not tell the entire story. The uninsured are a diverse and dynamic population, and the higher frequency of coverage loss is not only a function of the recession, but of the flaws inherent in the health insurance markets, namely the inability of individuals and families to secure and maintain personal and portable coverage. Data …
We all know health care coverage in the United States is a dire issue — especially since most health insurance is workplace-based and people who have lost jobs have few options to affordable and portable coverage. But as Heritage analyst Robert Moffit recently noted, it’s important to understand the real numbers of the uninsured. Families USA, a liberal health advocacy group in Washington, recently commissioned the Lewin Group to analyze data from the U.S. Census Bureau to determine how many Americans were uninsured for an unspecified time within the time …
