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Politics : Idea Of The Day -- Ignore unavailable to you. Want to Upgrade?

To: IQBAL LATIF who wrote (44725)	10/1/2003 2:21:13 AM
From: IQBAL LATIF	Respond to of 50167

Health Insurance - The big story of the day is the increase in the number of people without health insurance. The number of those without coverage rose by 2.4 million between 2001 and 2002, and the percentage of those without coverage rose from 14.6 percent of the population to 15.2 percent. This is indeed a matter of concern. But none of the stories I read mentioned that there was a recession in 2001. The data were presented as if part of some worrisome trend, such as employers dropping health coverage or some nasty Bush Administration policy, rather than as the inevitable result of a rise in unemployment caused by the recession. Since almost two-thirds of Americans get health insurance from their employers, a rise in unemployment will automatically reduce coverage. To put the numbers in perspective, the number of workers with employer-based health insurance fell by 1.8 million between 1991 and 1992--two years comparable to 2001 and 2002, a recession year and the first year after. The percentage of those without coverage rose from 14.1 percent to 15 percent. It is also worth noting that the percentage of those without coverage rose almost every year of the Clinton Administration, reaching 16.3 percent in 1998. I don't recall this news making page one, as today's did. Thereafter, the number of uninsured fell as the unemployment rate fell, reaching 14.2 percent in 2000. The number will fall again as the unemployment rate falls. It is irresponsible for the media not to put these figures into proper perspective. The complete report with historical detail is available below. census.gov Posted by Bruce Bartlett at 7:43 PM \| link