Americans United For Change: 50 Helpful Facts About Health Insurance Reform

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50 Helpful Facts About Health Insurance Reform
The Rapidly Rising Number of Uninsured and Underinsured


46.3 Million Americans Have No Health Insurance. “Nationwide, the number of uninsured has increased from 39.8 million in 2001 to 46.3 million in 2008.” {U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, Press Release, 9/16/09}

25 Million Americans Are 'Underinsured.’ “The number of underinsured U.S. adults -- people who have health coverage but are not adequately protected from high medical expenses -- has risen dramatically. A Commonwealth Fund study published by the journal Health Affairs in June finds that as of 2007, there were an estimated 25 million underinsured adults in the U.S., 60 percent more than the 16 million who were underinsured in 2003.” {CommonwealthFund.org, 7/28/08; Accessed, 9/16/09}

14,000 Americans are Losing Their Coverage Each Day. “Even when the economy was growing, 46 million people in America did not have any health insurance. Since the recession began, an estimated 4 million additional Americans have lost their health insurance and 2 million have become uninsured. The recent turmoil in the job market is likely increasing the number of uninsured at the rate of 14,000 a day.” {Center for American Progress, February 19, 2009}

A full one in six Americans with employer-sponsored insurance in 2006 lost that coverage by 2008. If this trend continues, one in six Americans with employer coverage today will lose their job-based health insurance over the next two years. {U.S. Department of Health and Human Services report, “Insurance Insecurity: Families Are Losing Employer-Sponsored Insurance Coverage,” accessed, 9/16/09}

Half of all Americans Will Lose Their Health Coverage Sometime in the Next 10 Years. “A new report from the Treasury Department shows that about half of all Americans under age 65 will lose their health coverage at some point over the next ten years. The report also found that more than one-third of Americans will go without coverage for longer than one year.” {Treasury Department, 9/20/09}

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