Insuring Accuracy

There are approximately 35 million people without health insurance in the United States. But a study by the House Republicans on Congress's Joint Economic Committee says this "snapshot" look at the uninsured may overstate the problem. First, the study found that many of the uninsured can actually afford insurance. (More than 5 percent of those making $15 an hour or more are not insured.) These are mostly young people. Most of them have probably decided to forgo health insurance. Of the involuntarily uninsured—the unemployed, low-wage earners, and those who have been denied coverage—the study found that over time most regain insurance. Meanwhile, of course, others become involuntarily uninsured. The House Republicans contend that the chronically and involuntarily uninsured population is about 5.8 million people.