Growth in Uninsured Americans Outpacing Federal Spending on the Health Care Safety Net

The South is Home to More than Half of Uninsured Growth; Immigrants Not Driving Recent Growth

WASHINGTON, D.C. - At a policy briefing examining the latest health coverage trends and the implications for the nation’s health care safety net, the Kaiser Commission on Medicaid and the Uninsured (KCMU) highlighted five reports that profile the growing uninsured population and portray the health care safety net as increasingly straining to meet uninsured people’s needs.

“In the absence of providing health insurance coverage for our nation’s growing uninsured population, some have said that the uninsured can receive care when they need it through the nation’s health care safety net. The new studies and personal stories released today document the increasing burden health providers are facing in delivering needed care,” said Diane Rowland, executive director of KCMU.

New analysis highlighted today found that, as the number of uninsured Americans increased by 4.6 million from 2001 to 2004, federal safety net spending per uninsured person fell from $546 to $498 during the same period. After adjusting for inflation, total federal spending for care for the uninsured increased by 1.3 percent from 2001-2004 while the number of uninsured increased by 11.2 percent. These trends resulted in an 8.9 percent decline in spending by the federal government per uninsured person. ...

Read the full story at:

The Kaiser Family Foundation

~ : ~ : ~ : ~ : ~ : ~ : ~

Read our article on:

Fast and Easy Indiana Health Insurance Quotes