Originally published June 23 2005
Study finds millions of Americans endangered by insufficient health insurance coverage
by Mike Adams, the Health Ranger, NaturalNews Editor
A survey published Monday in the journal Health Affairs found that 16 million adult Americans are "underinsured," and often don't go to a doctor or fill prescriptions, as they are still having difficulty paying for services, the Chicago Tribune reports.
Millions of Americans are going without needed medical services because of skimpy insurance coverage, potentially endangering their health, according to a study published Monday in the journal Health Affairs.
The report found that 16 million adult Americans are "underinsured" and face problems similar to those encountered by the 45 million Americans with no health insurance--primarily, difficulty getting and paying for care.
In the not-too-distant future, "it could become harder to differentiate consumers who are underinsured from those who are uninsured," and that's a worrisome trend, said lead author Cathy Schoen, vice president of the Commonwealth Fund, a New York foundation that specializes in health policy.
Almost three out of four underinsured American adults are low-income, the Health Affairs report found.
Compared with people with comprehensive insurance plans, twice as many people with more limited coverage (46 percent) report being contacted by a collection agency over unpaid medical bills or altering their lifestyle to pay medical expenses (35 percent).
Reasons for being underinsured range from high deductibles--the amount consumers pay before insurance kicks in--to limitations on covered benefits, such as medications or mental health services.
As employers have shifted a larger share of health-care costs to consumers over the past four years, the risk of being underinsured has multiplied, especially for people with expensive chronic illnesses.
Low-cost, high-deductible plans such as health savings accounts--a new type of insurance product paired with high-deductible coverage--could contribute to the problem if consumers don't have the financial wherewithal to pay for services up front, Pollack suggested.
The most popular health savings accounts have annual deductibles of $1,600 to $2,790, depending on the kind of policy offered, according to a March insurance industry report.
In Chicago, Kathleen Kearns, a graphic designer, hasn't had a Pap smear or a mammogram for three years, saying her insurance policy won't cover the cost.
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