New Study: 32 Million Underinsured in 2012
<p>Thirty-two million people under age 65 were underinsured in the U.S. in 2012, meaning they had health coverage but it provided inadequate protection against high health care costs relative to their income, a new <a href="/publications/fund-reports/2014/mar/americas-underinsured-state-state-look-health-insurance">Commonwealth Fund report</a> finds. </p><p>The report—the first to examine the underinsured phenomenon at the state level—shows that underinsured rates ranged from a low of 8 percent in New Hampshire to highs of 16 percent in Mississippi and Tennessee and 17 percent in Idaho and Utah. Low- and middle-income families were most likely to be underinsured. </p>
<p>The study also finds that 47 million people lacked health coverage in 2012, a decline of nearly 2 million from 2010. According to the authors, this drop in the uninsured rate was likely due in large part to the Affordable Care Act’s early provision to expand dependent coverage for young adults. </p>
<p>"The vast majority of people struggling to afford health care are low- and middle- income, and exactly the people the Affordable Care Act was designed to help," said Commonwealth Fund Senior Vice President Cathy Schoen, lead author of the study. "However, if all states don’t expand Medicaid, millions will still go without health insurance and health care."</p>
<p>Visit <a href="/publications/fund-reports/2014/mar/americas-underinsured-state-state-look-health-insurance">commonwealthfund.org</a> to read the report and view our Web feature, "When Your Health Insurance Isn't Good Enough." </p>