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Number of uninsured Americans rose during 2005

Respiratory Care Weekly, May 3, 2006

According to survey data released this week by the Commonwealth Fund, healthcare costs are increasing faster than wages, and more middle-income Americans can't afford health insurance. The foundation, which works to increase health insurance coverage, conducts its survey every two years, this time covering 4,350 adults age 19 and older.

Asthma patients, surveyors found, are more likely to skip medications that prevent attacks for financial reasons when they don't have insurance.

Specific data points from the survey include the following:

* Adults with annual incomes under $20,000 were still the most likely to be uninsured: More than half (53%) had spent time uninsured in the past year.

* Two of five (41%) working-age Americans with incomes between $20,000 and $40,000 a year were uninsured for at least part of the past year, an increase from 2001 when just over one-quarter (28%) of those with moderate incomes were uninsured.

* One in five of all adults under age 65 is currently paying off debt from medical bills incurred in the past. Those who lack insurance are particularly affected by this burden.

Click here http://www.cmwf.org/topics/topics.htm?attrib_id=12001 to read more about the study.

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