Myth: Number of uninsured requires government health care solutions

Liberal myth

Because new data shows 47 million Americans lack health insurance, the government must devise a national health care program.

The facts

Current government policy fuels uninsurance

For millions of Americans without job-based health insurance, both federal tax policy and the excessive regulatory burden on health insurance in the states price families out of coverage.

• Current federal tax policy unnecessarily drives millions into the ranks of the uninsured.

• If workers do not obtain health insurance through the place of work, they face a major tax penalty, resulting in premium increases of 40 to 50 percent.

Most of the uninsured are in and out of health coverage

• The vast majority of the uninsured are persons who are in and out of coverage, largely as a result of job changes, according to professional literature.

• Only a small number of the uninsured are chronically uninsured.

• For most of the uninsured, the problem is fixable if policymakers simply take steps to make health insurance portable, so the insurance policy sticks to the person, not the job.

Census Bureau data is misleading

The Census Bureau's Current Population Survey is a misleading measure of those who lack health insurance in America and an imprecise tool for analyzing the dimensions of the problem.

Analysis of data on the uninsured from earlier Census Bureau and other government reports shows:

• Roughly 7 million are illegal immigrants.

• Roughly 9 million are persons on Medicaid.

• 3.5 million are persons already eligible for government health programs.

• Approximately 20 million have, or live, in families with incomes greater than twice the federal poverty level, or $41,300 for a family of four.

Related Heritage research

• “The Heritage Foundation Responds to Uninsured Numbers in New U.S. Census Bureau Report,” August 28, 2007
• All Heritage health care research