Uninsured and Underinsured
in the United States

42% of American Adults are
either uninsured or underinsured

Population: 308 million Americans
Underinsured: 80 million
Uninsured: 50 million
Result: 299,000 Americans in each of the 435 U.S. Congressional Districts prior to the job losses during 2008 and 2009

78,500,000 total uninsured (rounded to 80 million above) divided by 435 U.S. Congressional Districts equals an average of 180,000 underinsured in every U.S. Congressional District out of a population of 700,000 on average in each district.

Increased number of people at risk

The reality of possible financial ruin had already started to hit the middle and upper class, but the possibility for them is higher than ever

The “underinsured” are individuals who have insurance but they are dangerously close to being in financial stress or disaster if they need any significant amount of medical care.

” … a sharp increase in the number of underinsured people. Based on indicators of cost exposure relative to income, as of 2007 an estimated twenty-five million insured people ages 19-64 were underinsured – a 60 percent increase (in the underinsured) since 2003. The rate of increase was steepest among those with incomes above 200 percent of poverty, where underinsurance rates nearly tripled (for persons in higher income brackets). In total, 42 percent of U.S. adults were underinsured or uninsured. The underinsured report high levels of access problems and financial stress. … ” — Bolding was added.

References

“How Many Are Underinsured? Trends Among U.S. Adults, 2003 and 2007” – June 2008 report in Health Affairs magazine 27, no. 4 (2008). Additional parts of that report are seen here.