At the end of 2006, the resident population of the United States was approximately 300 million. Roughly 250 million people had some form of health insurance. The operative word is roughly. People obtain health insurance from a variety of sources. Many of them have access to and sometimes coverage from more than one source. Moreover, they may not have coverage for the entire year, and there is no single repository of data on who has what sort of coverage over what period of time. Thus, a person living in a two-earner household may have coverage from both workers, from only one, or from neither. A retiree may have Elderly Medicare coverage and a private supplemental policy. (more…)

Medicare generally provides health insurance coverage to those over age 65. The Medicare Trustees (2006) reported that Medicare covered 42.5 million individuals in 2005, 35.8 million of whom were over age 65. The elderly Medicare program has four “parts.” Medicare Part A essentially covers hospital, skilled nursing facility, and home health services, which are paid for by the payroll taxes earmarked for the Medicare program. Medicare Part B essentially covers physician services and durable medical equipment. (more…)