1) The "46 million" uninsured number is highly suspect. How Many Americans Are Uninsured? We asked the
Kaiser Foundation what methodology the Census Bureau used to assemble this
number. Kaiser told us over the phone, "We don't know." We discovered that
number is cobbled together from a Census Bureau "survey" of 50,000
households. Some homes are interviewed by telephone and others are visited.
This methodology leaves huge holes in the credibility of the survey and the
endlessly repeated result of 46 million "uninsured."
2) Even using the suspect of the US Census Bureau data -- we discover:
- 21% of the non-insured ARE NOT U.S. CITIZENS. These are not "illegal aliens"
but 9.4 million people living here without citizenship.
- 19.7% (8.9 million) of the non-insured are children under the age of 18 who could be
readily enrolled in existing federal healthcare.
- 16.2% of the non-insured
(7.3 million) are 19 to 24 years old and are the least expensive to insure.
- 39% of the non-insured are under the age of 35.
- 24% of the non-insured make $40,000 per year or more.
- 89% of the non-insured define their health
status as good, very good or excellent. Twenty-seven million say their
health is very good to excellent.
So how many are actually chronically uninsured?
Unfortunately, no solid data can be determined due to the wavering credibility of the Census Bureau's numbers.
What we do know, though, is that the number is significantly less then what universal health care proponents claim.
What about the people who are genuinely "uninsurable" in the current free market system?
There are good reasons to promote "reform" in healthcare laws. Reforming existing laws is
very different, however, from a radical government takeover. Fixing the problems in the
existing system, such as the "uninsurables" is critical and can be accomplished by the free market.
Read more: The Solution
