Thanks to right-wing talk radio the level of disinformation in the public stream of information is at an all-time high. Hannity, Rush, and all their brethren will literally say anything to either start a ratings increasing controversy or make the Republicans look good. As a result, there is a perception that people who don’t have medical insurance somehow choose not to have insurance. The Kaiser Foundation published a study called “Myths About the Uninsured” that debunks some of these right-wing hacks more egregious claims.
Most of the Uninsured do not have health insurance because they are not working and so don’t have access to health benefits through an employer.
Actually, 80 percent of uninsured Americans come from working families. However, of these 80%, 81% are employed be companies that don’t have insurance, or are not eligible for their employer’s health plan.
In other words – they either have a job, or one of their immediate family members has a job.
Buying Insurance is always an option.
The average annual cost of a private insurance plan is around $3300/year or $275/month. For an individual who makes $2000 after taxes, this represents 14% of their monthly income. This is on top of, rent and the ever-increasing price of gas. In other words, the cost of insurance is prohibitive below a certain income level.
The uninsured believe they don’t need it or don’t want it.
The majority of the uninsured (52%) state medical insurance is too expensive.
Most of the growth in the uninsured is in higher income brackets.
The unemployment totals have increased 5 million in the last 5 years. Of these 5 million, 75% are from low-income families.
Does anyone see a pattern here? It’s about money. Plain and simple. These are people who are working trying to move-up in the world. But, insurance is financially beyond their reach. These people know about insurance but don’t make enough money to pay for it. And I’ll bet you employers work this system to their advantage to keep people off their insurance rolls to keep their costs down.
http://www.kff.org/uninsured/7307.cfm
