Most of us have health insurance coverage, so why care about those who don't? There are several reasons why Americans who have health insurance should worry about the very real costs and dangers we face as a result of living with 46.3 million Americans who don't have health insurance coverage.
A January 2004 report by the Institute of Medicine of the National Academies entitled, Insuring American's Health: Principles and Recommendations illustrates some of the problems and costs resulting from this societal problem. I have provided comments from this report, which appear in italics, interspersed with my own thinking in ordinary type.
On average, people who are uninsured for a full year pay 35 percent of the overall cost of their medical care.
The roughly $35 billion for uncompensated care provided to uninsured individuals is comprised of $23.6 billion in patients' unpaid hospital bills, $7.1 billion in public expenditures for government grant and direct service programs (e.g. Veterans Affairs, Indian Health Services, Health Resources and Services Administration programs, local health departments) and $5.1 billion in free or reduced cost care provided by office-based physicians and through volunteer service in clinics.
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