Health Insurance Coverage In The United States
The number of persons without health insurance coverage in the United States is one of the primary concerns raised by advocates of health care reform. A person without health insurance is commonly termed uninsured (regardless of insurance of objects unrelated to health), and this article uses the term in this sense as well. According to the United States Census Bureau, in 2009 there were 50.7 million people in the US (16.7% of the population) who were without health insurance. The percentage of the non-elderly population who are uninsured has been generally increasing since the year 2000.
The causes of this rate of uninsurance remain a matter of political debate. Rising insurance costs have contributed to a trend in which fewer employers are offering health insurance, and many employers are managing costs by requiring higher employee contributions. Many of the uninsured are the working poor or are unemployed. Others are healthy and choose to go without it. Some have been rejected by insurance companies and are considered "uninsurable". Some are without health insurance only temporarily. Some choose faith-based alternatives to health insurance.
Read more about Health Insurance Coverage In The United States: Estimates of The Number Uninsured, Uninsured Demographic, Downturn Effects, Types of Insurance, Causes, Consequences, Emergency Medical Treatment and Active Labor Act (EMTALA), Uninsured Rates By State, Assisting Programs For Uninsured
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