Massachusetts Personal Injury Library
American workers at risk of being uninsured
Massachusetts attorney Thomas M. Kiley concentrates on legal issues surrounding health care. A recent study by the Robert Woods Johnson Foundation shows that American workers are at a higher risk of losing health care insurance.
An article in The Boston Globe explains that although most retirees and nearly 90% of children have health care coverage, workers are at risk of being uninsured. The study found that one in five workers is uninsured, an increase from fewer in one in seven during the mid-1990s.
According to the Robert Woods Johnson Foundation report, the documents they analyzed showed:
- Nationwide, nearly 9 million more Americans are uninsured.
- Six million more working people are uninsured in the United States.
- Nationwide, average costs paid by an employee for an individual health insurance premium have risen nearly eight times faster than average U.S. incomes.
- The percentage of non elderly people with private health insurance has decreased to just 67 percent, down 6 percentage points nationwide.
But these numbers are probably higher now that the economy has gone into a recession. The problem is an increase in the cost of health care for employer plans, where the total premiums have risen six to eight times faster than wages. Lynn Blewett, director of the State Health Access Data Assistance Center at the University of Minnesota, which conducted the research, said there has been a deterioration of private health insurance. In the mid-1990s, there were 20.7 million uninsured workers. That number now is 26.9 million, an increase of six million people.
"The case for reform couldn't be clearer," said Risa Lavizzo-Mourey, M.D., M.B.A., president and CEO of the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation. "Further 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. And the more people who become uninsured, the harder it is on our health care system."
The report— At the Brink: Trends in America's Uninsured 1994-2007—looks at state-by-state health coverage trends. 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. 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 1994-1996 and compared it with average figures from 2006-2007.
The report shows:
* More Americans are uninsured. Nationwide, the total number of uninsured has increased by nearly 9 million, to 45.7 million. Across the U.S., 22 percent of men are uninsured, up from 19 percent; 18 percent of women are uninsured, up from 16 percent.
* More working people are uninsured. Nationwide, 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.
* Workers' insurance costs have risen far faster than incomes. Average costs for an individual insurance policy have 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 in the U.S increasing just 10 percent over the period.
The report is being released during Cover the Uninsured Week March 22-28, a nonpartisan campaign organized by RWJF to advocate for health coverage for all Americans. To learn more, log on to CoverTheUninsured.
