Americans without Health Insurance Essay -- Medical Insuance Health

The Uninsured States of AmericaNearly 48 million Americans had no health care coverage in 2005, and the account willcontinue to grow if this country does not enact new policies to defuse this crisis (Families USA2). Families USA, a nonprofit and nonpartisan organization that advocates for public healthcontracted with Dr. Kenneth Thorpe, Professor and Chair of the Department of Health Policyand Management at Emory University, to analyze data from the U.S. Census Bureau and othernational databases to scan the fiscal impact on this country of so many uninsured people. Thisstudy, released in June 2005, found that the overwhelming majority of uninsured people areworkers in low-wage jobs (Families 10). With the advent of national welfare reform in 1996,millions of people entered the low-wage workforce and lost their Medicaid eligibility. Accordingto Judith Feder, Dean of Policy Studies at Georgetown University, Since most people leavewelfare find themselves in low-paying jobs without c overage, loss of public coverage leaves themwithout health coverage altogether (Feder 29). Moreover, many corporations, pressured byglobal competition to hold defeat labor costs, are increasingly asking their employees to share agreater portion of the escalating cost of health insurance premiums, if employers offer benefits atall. In fact, a study by the Commonwealth Fund reports that more than one-quarter of workers incompanies with over 500 employees do not receive employer-based coverage, and that one inevery common chord full-time workers with incomes below $35,000 is uninsured (Commonwealth 1).Low-wage workers are therefore caught in an untenable situation. They do not qualify forMedicaid and cannot afford to buy hea... ...The State of Health Care. The inheritance Foundation. 21 January 2004.The Heritage Foundation. 13 Mar. 2006.Paying a Premium. Families USA. 1 June 2005. Families USA. 20 Mar. 2006Rowland, Diane. Committe on shipway and Means. 9 March 2004. House Committee on Ways andMeans. 13 Mar. 2006.The Uninsured A Primer. Kaiser Family Foundation. 1 January 2006. Kaiser Commission onMedicaid and the Uninsured. 20 Mar. 2006 .Wilson, Katherine. Snapshot Health Care Costs 101, 2005 Edition. CHCF. June2005. California Health Care Foundation. 13 Mar. 2006.