- Sep 19, 2011
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From this web site: http://www.discoverthenetworks.org/viewSubCategory.asp?id=1957
THERE NEVER WERE 46 MILLION UNINSURED
* From the moment President Obama and the Democrats began pushing for healthcare reform, they repeatedly emphasized the notion that approximately 45.7 million Americans—roughly 15% of the country's population—lacked insurance.
* Said the Obama website during the 2008 presidential campaign: “Forty-six million Americans—including nearly eight million children—lack health insurance with no signs of this trend slowing down.” [TTM: pp. 31-32]
* The implication was that the existing system, based on private insurance companies, was failing, and that the government could do a much better job of regulating and administering healthcare. [TTM: pp. 32]
* The 45.7 million figure was derived from a Census Bureau questionnaire known as the Current Population Survey (CPS), which has substantial margins of error.
* But even if we assume that the data are entirely accurate, it is vital to note that the Census Bureau itself states: “The CPS estimate of the number of people without health insurance more closely approximates the number of people who are uninsured at a specific point in time during the year than the number of people uninsured for the entire year.”
* In other words, it would be inaccurate to conclude that 45.7 million Americans were unable to afford health insurance and and to access healthcare for extended time periods. The figure is simply a “snapshot” of a particular moment in time. [TTM: pp. 32-34; TAO: Loc. 815-822]
* Below is an overview of who these 45.7 million uninsured people prior to Obamacare were.
There is, of course, some overlap among the various categories:
* (A) Almost 18 million (39%) of the uninsured earned more than $50,000 annually, and thus, in many cases, could probably have afforded to purchase private insurance but chose not to.
* Of these 18 million, some 8 million earned between $50,000 and $75,000 per year, and the other 9.7 to 10 million earned more than $75,000. These $75,000+ earners comprised the fastest-growing segment of the uninsured population.
* By contrast, the number of households with annual incomes of less than $25,000 who lacked health insurance had been declining steadily since 1998. [TTM: pp. 35, 38-40; DOHL: Loc. 1514-17, 1526-30; TAO: Loc. 796-98, 839-42, 1277]
* (B) Approximately 14 million of the uninsured were low-income Americans who were fully eligible for government assistance programs like Medicaid, and SCHIP, but simply had never taken the time to enroll in these programs.
* With regard to children in particular, some 70% of uninsured youngsters were eligible for either Medicaid, SCHIP, or both programs, but their parents had never fill out the necessary paperwork.
* It is not legitimate to argue that such people had no access to health insurance.
Indeed, Medicaid and children’s health programs allow patients literally to enroll in the emergency room. [TTM: pp. 37-39, 67, 93-94; DOHL: Loc. 1514-17, 1526-30; TAO: Loc. 798-800, 859-861, 865-870]
* (C) About 6 million people—or 13% of the uninsured—were eligible for employer-sponsored insurance but chose not to take advantage of it. [TAO: Loc. 801-802]
* (D) More than 10 million uninsured were not U.S. citizens. According to Census data, these included 5 million recently-arrived legal immigrants, and 5.2 million illegal immigrants. [TTM: p. 36; TAO: Loc. 802-805]
* According to Pacific Research Institute president Sally Pipes: “Most of those who do not purchase health insurance make that choice not because they don’t have the resources or because they’re lazy, but because they’ve done the math and don’t want to spend their money on expensive insurance policies that don’t fit their individual or family needs.” In short, they “have chosen not to buy insurance for entirely rational reasons.” [TTM: pp. 66, 67]
* Even without any type of insurance, a person could walk into any hospital in America and be treated for an injury or illness. Not permitted to deny treatment to uninsured patients, hospitals have routinely absorbed the costs of such care into their operating budgets. [TTM: p. 94]
* Under the Emergency Medical Treatment and Active Labor Act of 1986, virtually all hospitals are required to provide emergency care to anyone needing treatment, regardless of their citizenship status or their ability to pay. [TAO: Loc. 907-808]
* After accounting for the various categories of uninsured people enumerated in points A, B, C, D, and E above, there remained somewhere between 8 and 18 million American citizens who fell through the proverbial cracks. These individuals earned less than $50,000 per year but too much to qualify for government assistance, and remained chronically uninsured because they could not afford to purchase a policy.
* Any attempt to solve the problem of the uninsured should have focused specifically and chiefly on these people, who needed affordable policies that would cover catastrophes—which in fact has been the traditional purpose of insurance. [TTM: pp. 39, 67; DOHL: Loc. 1514-17, 1526-30]
* It is unlikely that these individuals numbered more than 10 million. [TAO: Loc.805-807]
THERE NEVER WERE 46 MILLION UNINSURED
* From the moment President Obama and the Democrats began pushing for healthcare reform, they repeatedly emphasized the notion that approximately 45.7 million Americans—roughly 15% of the country's population—lacked insurance.
* Said the Obama website during the 2008 presidential campaign: “Forty-six million Americans—including nearly eight million children—lack health insurance with no signs of this trend slowing down.” [TTM: pp. 31-32]
* The implication was that the existing system, based on private insurance companies, was failing, and that the government could do a much better job of regulating and administering healthcare. [TTM: pp. 32]
* The 45.7 million figure was derived from a Census Bureau questionnaire known as the Current Population Survey (CPS), which has substantial margins of error.
* But even if we assume that the data are entirely accurate, it is vital to note that the Census Bureau itself states: “The CPS estimate of the number of people without health insurance more closely approximates the number of people who are uninsured at a specific point in time during the year than the number of people uninsured for the entire year.”
* In other words, it would be inaccurate to conclude that 45.7 million Americans were unable to afford health insurance and and to access healthcare for extended time periods. The figure is simply a “snapshot” of a particular moment in time. [TTM: pp. 32-34; TAO: Loc. 815-822]
* Below is an overview of who these 45.7 million uninsured people prior to Obamacare were.
There is, of course, some overlap among the various categories:
* (A) Almost 18 million (39%) of the uninsured earned more than $50,000 annually, and thus, in many cases, could probably have afforded to purchase private insurance but chose not to.
* Of these 18 million, some 8 million earned between $50,000 and $75,000 per year, and the other 9.7 to 10 million earned more than $75,000. These $75,000+ earners comprised the fastest-growing segment of the uninsured population.
* By contrast, the number of households with annual incomes of less than $25,000 who lacked health insurance had been declining steadily since 1998. [TTM: pp. 35, 38-40; DOHL: Loc. 1514-17, 1526-30; TAO: Loc. 796-98, 839-42, 1277]
* (B) Approximately 14 million of the uninsured were low-income Americans who were fully eligible for government assistance programs like Medicaid, and SCHIP, but simply had never taken the time to enroll in these programs.
* With regard to children in particular, some 70% of uninsured youngsters were eligible for either Medicaid, SCHIP, or both programs, but their parents had never fill out the necessary paperwork.
* It is not legitimate to argue that such people had no access to health insurance.
Indeed, Medicaid and children’s health programs allow patients literally to enroll in the emergency room. [TTM: pp. 37-39, 67, 93-94; DOHL: Loc. 1514-17, 1526-30; TAO: Loc. 798-800, 859-861, 865-870]
* (C) About 6 million people—or 13% of the uninsured—were eligible for employer-sponsored insurance but chose not to take advantage of it. [TAO: Loc. 801-802]
* (D) More than 10 million uninsured were not U.S. citizens. According to Census data, these included 5 million recently-arrived legal immigrants, and 5.2 million illegal immigrants. [TTM: p. 36; TAO: Loc. 802-805]
* According to Pacific Research Institute president Sally Pipes: “Most of those who do not purchase health insurance make that choice not because they don’t have the resources or because they’re lazy, but because they’ve done the math and don’t want to spend their money on expensive insurance policies that don’t fit their individual or family needs.” In short, they “have chosen not to buy insurance for entirely rational reasons.” [TTM: pp. 66, 67]
* Even without any type of insurance, a person could walk into any hospital in America and be treated for an injury or illness. Not permitted to deny treatment to uninsured patients, hospitals have routinely absorbed the costs of such care into their operating budgets. [TTM: p. 94]
* Under the Emergency Medical Treatment and Active Labor Act of 1986, virtually all hospitals are required to provide emergency care to anyone needing treatment, regardless of their citizenship status or their ability to pay. [TAO: Loc. 907-808]
* After accounting for the various categories of uninsured people enumerated in points A, B, C, D, and E above, there remained somewhere between 8 and 18 million American citizens who fell through the proverbial cracks. These individuals earned less than $50,000 per year but too much to qualify for government assistance, and remained chronically uninsured because they could not afford to purchase a policy.
* Any attempt to solve the problem of the uninsured should have focused specifically and chiefly on these people, who needed affordable policies that would cover catastrophes—which in fact has been the traditional purpose of insurance. [TTM: pp. 39, 67; DOHL: Loc. 1514-17, 1526-30]
* It is unlikely that these individuals numbered more than 10 million. [TAO: Loc.805-807]
