The Uninsured Through 2013

According to a study published in April issue of Health Affairs the number of uninsured Americans is expected to rise by eleven million in the coming decade.

It’s The Premiums, Stupid: Projections Of The Uninsured Through 2013 explains that historically the cost of healthcare has had a direct impact on the decline in personal health insurance.

The authors claim that in the face of uncertaintly of illhealth, people would often rather take a certain, moderate loss by paying an insurance premium instead of taking the chance of a large financial loss from serious illness. However, purchasing health insurance may also mean that there is less available income to purchase other goods "and that as the share of income required to pay premiums rises, consumers must sacrifice more and more consumption to remain insured. Thus, those who are dropping insurance do so mainly as the result of budgetary pressures. As a result, among low- and moderate-income people, we expect that as health insurance premiums increase, the number of uninsured people will also increase."

The authors conclude that some form of universal health coverage needs to be initiated, with contributions from a combination of employers, employees, and taxpayers. They also say that any future health coverage system will not be affordable without greater efforts for cost containment.