Numbers of uninsured increase among workers

Although low-income adults are the most likely to be uninsured, a new study reports that 41 percent of working-age Americans with moderate to middle incomes were uninsured for at least part of the past year. This statistic has rapidly increased since 2001 when 28 percent of this group lacked health insurance.

The study by the Commonwealth Fund, titled Gaps in Health Insurance: An All-American Problem, also reported that the vast majority of the uninsured are in working families. Of the estimated 48 million working-age Americans uninsured during the year, 67 percent were in families where at least one person was working full time.

These findings may stem from the fact that fewer businesses offer health coverage to employees. In 2003, only 31 percent of Texas businesses with fewer than 50 employees offered health insurance compared to 43 percent nationally, according to a study by the U.S. Agency for Health Research and Quality. Less than half of Texas employers of all sizes offered insurance, compared with 56 percent nationally.

Members of the U.S. Congress have proposed legislation to address this growing concern. An article in New Mexico Business Weekly reported three specific proposals. One proposal introduced in the U.S. Senate in November 2005, the Health Insurance Marketplace Modernization and Affordability Act, would allow small business owners to join buying pools to help reduce the cost of health insurance by collaboration. Another recent plan introduced last month, the Equity for Our Nation's Self-Employed Act, would allow small business owners to deduct health coverage from payroll taxes. The third measure introduced in March U.S. Sen. Olympia Snowe, R-Maine, chairwoman of the Senate Committee on Small Business and Entrepreneurship is called the Small Business Health Insurance Relief Act of 2006. It would give incentives to small businesses that offer affordable insurance coverage to employees.

Efforts in Texas are still sporadic, though 25 percent of the state population, or almost 5.6 million people, lack health insurance. Only certain large counties have begun to address local coverage issues. Harris County officials are working to develop health insurance plans for the varying needs the diverse uninsured population of 1.1 million people. The plan proposed by the Harris County Health Care Alliance, formerly the Public Healthcare System Council, would provide coverage to workers making less than $50,000 annually. Over three years, the alliance’s plan would cover one tenth of uninsured residents.

Austin-area groups such as the Indigent Care Collaboration are working to boost enrollment in public and private coverage programs to quell the rising number of uninsured in Central Texas. The ICC teamed with Network Sciences to develop Medicaider, a screening tool used in clinics, hospitals and emergency rooms that stores requirements for federal, state and local health coverage programs into one database and can be used to determine an uninsured person’s eligibility for these programs in minutes. Preliminary reports from the implementation of the software indicate that member health organizations screened 110,000 people and found more than 96,000 persons eligible for health insurance in the area.

Awareness campaigns such as Cover the Uninsured Week, that started May 1 and will last through May 7, represent part of the effort to decrease the number of uninsured Americans. During Cover the Uninsured Week, organizers encourage participation in press conferences, health fairs, business seminars, interfaith group meetings and campus activities. The most important events of the weeklong campaign are the enrollment drives for uninsured adults and children. At the public events, volunteers will work with uninsured people to determine coverage options or eligibility for public coverage programs. For more information on Cover the Uninsured Week or to view upcoming events, visit the official Web site.

Additional resources:

Read the full study on the Commonwealth Fund Web site.

Send a sample letter to the editor about cover the uninsured week to raise awareness for the millions of Americans with health coverage.

You may be entitled to health insurance in Texas and not even know it. Find out how in the document, “Guide to Finding Health Insurance Coverage in Texas.”