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Health Policy Links
Council for Affordable Healthcare Insurance
Coalition for Affordable Healthcare
The Coalition for Affordable Healthcare
Connecticut Coalition for Universal Healthcare
Affordable Healthcare
Healthcare concerns:
There are 47 million Americans who do not have Healthcare. Of these, 8.7 million are children. Another 25 to 30 million are underinsured.
In Connecticut, there are 325,000 uninsured with 49,000 children.
One-quarter of the uninsured live below the federal poverty level, which was $10,294 for a single adult and $20,614 for a four-person household in 2006, and more than one-half (54 percent) live below 200 percent of the federal poverty level.
People with family income below 200 percent of the federal poverty level are nearly twice as likely to be uninsured as the nonelderly population in general.
Only 7 percent of people in families with income over $75,000 per year are uninsured, compared to 35.7 percent of people with family income below $10,000.
In recent years, individuals with health insurance coverage have experienced increases in out-of-pocket expenses for health care.
More than eight in 10 of the non-elderly uninsured (82.8 percent) live in families where the head of the family works.
An estimated 18,000 - 22,000 Americans die each year because they don't have health coverage.
The uninsured are -- and have been for years and years -- mainly people who make less than 200 percent of the poverty level
Nearly 70 percent of the uninsured come from families with at least one full-time worker.
Part-time workers, who are less likely to be offered health insurance, are even more vulnerable. They make up only 19 percent of the population, but 28 percent of the uninsured.
Only 52 percent of companies with less than 10 workers offer their employees health insurance, while 99 percent of firms with more than 200 employees do.
When you compare underinsured adults, they look quite a bit like the uninsured.
Nearly half (46%) of the nine million uninsured children in the United States resided in the southern region, encompassing 17 states and the District of Columbia.
The United States spends nearly $100 billion to provide uninsured patients with health services, often for preventable diseases or diseases more efficiently treated with early diagnoses. This burden is shouldered by everyone.
This number amounts to more than 15 percent of the U.S. population or approximately one in seven Americans, and the problem is growing. Over the past two decades, the number of uninsured Americans has increased by about one million people annually, and it shows no sign of slowing down.
The uninsured are often unable to receive the primary and preventive care they need -- medications to keep disease in check, mammograms and regular screenings for colon cancer, yearly visits with a primary care physician to maintain good health, and more.
When the uninsured do receive health care, they often cannot afford to pay for it, so those costs are paid by others. They are passed on to privately insured people and companies offering insurance to their workers, providers who absorb costs by offering uncompensated care, and taxpayers.
Additional Health Policy Links
Center for Health Care Strategies
Address: http://www.chcs.org/
The Center's Medicaid Managed Care Program promotes policies that ensure quality care for recipients of Medicaid and state Children's Health Insurance Programs.Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services
Address: http://cms.hhs.gov/
CMS is the federal agency that administers Medicare, Medicaid and the State Children's Health Insurance Program.Center on Budget & Policy Priorities
Address: http://www.cbpp.org
A nonpartisan research organization and policy institute that conducts research and analysis on a range of government policies and programs, with an emphasis on those affecting low- and moderate-income people.KaiserNetwork.org
Address: http://www.kaisernetwork.org/
A daily news service on health policy sponsored by the Kaiser Family Foundation.National Health Law Program
Address: http://www.healthlaw.org/
A national public interest law firm that seeks to improve health care for America's working and unemployed poor, minorities, the elderly and people with disabilities.Urban Institute
Address: http://www.urban.org/
The Urban Institute investigates social and economic problems the nation and analyzes efforts to solve these problems. The issues examined include Medicaid and welfare. Its home page and What's New page highlight its most recent reports.
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