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…)

Medicaid is a joint federal-state program providing medical care services to low-income individuals. Medicaid eligibility requirements is established through the categorically needy and medically needy programs, or as a result of membership in a few special groups recognized by federal law. Categorical eligibility includes families covered by the state welfare program, pregnant women and children under age 6 with family income up to 133 percent (more…)

The Health Research Educational Trust (HRET) and the Kaiser Family Foundation conduct an annual survey of employers concerning their health insurance coverage. A summary of the findings is readily available on the Kaiser Family Foundation website (www.kff.org/insurance/7031/index.cfm) and in annual summary articles by Jon Gabel and colleagues in a fall or winter issue of Health Affairs. The survey is nationally representative of public and private employers, and is drawn from the Dunn and Bradstreet listing of U.S. firms. Responding establishments are resurveyed in subsequent years. Approximately 1,400 firms respond each year, and the overall annual response rate is approximately 50 percent. (more…)

Analysis of the demand for health insurance is complicated by the fact that most people in the United States get their insurance through their workplace. The reason for this is twofold. Workers value health insurance, and it is an affordable health insurance when purchased through an employer. Both points are important. Workers do value health insurance. A 1991 Gallup poll indicated that health insurance was the single most valued employment fringe benefit for 64 percent of respondents (Wall Street Journal 1991). (more…)

Getting health insurance for you is something commendable. But the problem is that there are many people who are not conscious of the price of health insurance. Also, 40% of those without any health insurance coverage earn something more than 200% of the general poverty rate, but they still go without insurance. (more…)