Recent Fact and Figures on Health Care in the U.S.
- 116 million people in the U.S. were uninsured, underinsured, struggled to pay medical bills, or went without needed care because of cost in 2007. That number represents nearly two-thirds of all adults in the country.
- Nearly 9 million Americans have lost their health insurance since 2000.
Taking On Debt
- 72 million people reported a problem paying their medical bills or had accrued medical debt. That's roughly forty-one percent of adults under age 65. This number is up from 34 percent, or 58 million, in 2005.
- 7 million adults 65 and older also reported bill or debt problems.
- More than half of adults with incomes under $40,000 reported problems with their medical bills in 2007.
More and More Americans Lack Health Insurance Coverage
- In 2007, 28% of American adults, an estimated 50 million people,were uninsured for some time during the previous year. This is up from24% of adults, or 38 million people who were uninsured for part of 2001.
- Half of all American families with an annual income less than $20,000 went without health insurance coverage for at least part of the year.
- 41 percent of adults in families earning between $20,000 and $40,000 reported they were uninsured for part of the year, up from 28 percent of those in families earning between $20,000 and $35,000 in 2001.
Americans Are Spending Large Shares of Income on Health Care
- One-third of adults spent 10 percent or more of their income on health insurance and health care, up from 21 percent in 2001.
- More than half of adults in families with incomes under $20,000 and more than one-third of adults earning between $20,000 and $60,000 spent 10 percent or more of their income on health care.
- The number of adults under age 65 whose out-of-pocket health care costs are so high that they areeffectively underinsured increased from 9 percent to 14 percent, or to 25 million people, between 2003 and 2007.
Source: “Losing Ground: How the Loss of Adequate Health
Insurance is Burdening Working Families,” Report by The Commonwealth
Fund (Published August 2008)
