Testimony--The Growing Problem of Underinsurance in the United States: What It Means for Working Families and How Health Reform Will Help - The Commonwealth Fund

The soaring costs of health care, along with the economic recession and stagnant wages, are leaving many working families without insurance or with medical expenses that consume a large share of their incomes. In September the Census Bureau reported that 46.3 million people lacked health insurance in 2008, up from 45.7 million in 2007. Among people who do have health insurance, The Commonwealth Fund estimates that in 2007, 25 million working-age adults had such high out-of-pocket costs relative to their income that they were effectively underinsured, an increase from 16 million in 2003. Both these trends have had serious financial and health consequences for U.S. families. An estimated 72 million adults under age 65, both with and without health insurance, reported problems paying their medical bills in 2007, and 80 million reported a time that they did not get needed health care because of cost.
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