Record Number of Americans Lack Health Insurance - Federal report cites drop in employer-sponsored coverage

I know that I have harped on this issue before, but I truly believe it is one of the biggest domestic issues in the USA. Statistics show that over one-half of all bankruptcies is due to a family medical crisis. Sometimes even where the parties have health insurance coverage. This article from MSNBC (http://health.msn.com/healthnews/articlepage.aspx?cp-documentid=100168613&GT1=10316) shows that the problem of uninsured Americans is increasing. That one of the leading industrail nations in the world treats its citizens in this manner is a disgrace. Even more scandalous, it is the party of "family values" and public religion that most opposes changes in health coverage for Americans. Here are highlights form the story:

TUESDAY, Aug. 28 (HealthDay News) -- A record number of Americans are without health insurance, according to new U.S. Census Bureau statistics released Tuesday. Some of the trend can be explained by employers who are curtailing coverage or making it too costly for lower income workers to afford, the report said.

"The number of people without health insurance coverage increased from 44.8 million in 2005 to 47 million in 2006," David S. Johnson, chief of the bureau's Housing and Household Economic Statistics Division, said during a teleconference Tuesday. The percentage of Americans without health insurance rose to 15.8 percent in 2006 from 15.3 percent in 2005, Johnson added. "This is the second consecutive year of increase," he said.

The problems of the uninsured are particularly acute among children. The percent and the number of children under 18 without health insurance increased to 11.7 percent from 10.9 percent from 2005 to 2006, and to 8.7 million from 8 million, respectively. "The number of children covered by private insurance decreased from 65.8 percent in 2005 to 64.6 percent in 2006," Johnson said. "The increase in the uninsured rate can be attributed to the decline in private coverage." Moreover, 19.3 percent of children in poverty had no health insurance.

Davis added that employers were dropping coverage of dependents. "It really varies by the income of the family," she said. "Either employers aren't covering the kids, or the premium share is too high for families to afford."