Uninsured Americans?

Question

Why is it that 37 percent of the uninsured live in households making more than $50,000 a year? I make just under $50K, have a stay-at-home wife, 2 kids, mortgage, car payment and pay $800 a month for health insurance. Why can't they pay for health insurance yet I can? I'm sure most of them have put themselves in so much debt, they would rather pay high interest credit card bills rather than provide health insurance for their family. And they expect the federal government to "help" them.

Answer 1

where do you live? that plays a major part but to be very honest with you this isn't possible and I don't believe you one bit unless you live in Ohio but if that's the case you more than likely aren't making 50 g's a year and you CERTAINLY are getting help from the Gov.

so please stop lying.

oooooooooooh I see your real answer right below mine.

Answer 2

They are democrates.  They want the government to take care of them.  They think they are owed it, and it is a right they somehow inherited.  You live in the real world, you plan, budget, have limited debt, unlike those who choose not to buy health insurance.  

Answer 3

I can understand why somebody making $50k a year does not have enough money for health insurance.  In most parts of the country, we call these people the "working poor".  I have a difficult time imagining being able to survive on $50k per year, while living in a middle class suburb of almost any major US City.  

In NY, a family health insurance plan costs approx. $1200 per month.  If you are paying $2k per month for a mortgage (that is $24k), add $1200 per month is now $36k.  On a $50k salary, you are just about at your total net pay now.  People need money to live.

Answer 4

Possible reasons:

Where they live vs. cost of living

Don't have as many tax deductions as you do

Helping out other family members

These are good reasons to show. But for more detials do like me. ask the expert ( http://www.rghins.com/ ).

Answer 5

$800 dollars a  month on health insureance. You just answered your own question. That is WAY too much for health insurance. And God forbide if anything major happened you will see how much that so-call insurance your paying for will really cover... Get an attorney and go over what your insurance REALLY covers, I bet you idea of $800 a month would go out the window.

Its not a matter of not wanting or paying something else instead of insurance its the logic of the cost and value of health insurance in America that makes no sense!  

Answer 6

Wow, what a self centered way to look at the problem.

You have to understand that just because YOU do something, doesn't mean that anyone else can.

First off, in the part of America I live in, the average income is around $20K.  So $800 would be more than many people pay for their mortgage.

I make more money than you, but I couldn't buy my wife insurance if I tried.  She had a back operation once, and so this scares insurance companies off.  She has tried, but they all refuse to cover her.  Or offer some kind of BS policy that won't cover anything attached to her spine!  She can get some kind of government sponsored coverage in the state we live in, but even that would cost well over $1,000 a month with exclusions and a crazy deductibles, that just make it useless.

With me self employed, and her working on her PhD, we just don't have any real options.

I'm sure there are a million other stories like that in America.  Perhaps you should watch the movie Sicko.

The fact of the matter is that Americans spend more per capita on health care than any other nation on the planet.  Yet well over 40 million Americans do not have proper access to health care.  Our infant mortality rate is poor, as are our life expectancy figures, and preventable death statistics.  The red tape expenses we have are three times more than Canada, that has a government based health care system.  Yep that's right, our 'efficient' private system has more red tape than a government system right across the border.

Health care is a basic human right.  The way we treat the weakest and most vulnerable in our nation, says a lot about who we are as a people.  Did you know that of all the developed countries in the world, America and South Africa are the only two who don't provide proper universal health care?  Is that a club you really think we need to be in?

The secondary issue is also people like you.  People who think they have everything covered with insurance, but then someone gets sick, or someone loses a job, or someone switches jobs and is between insurance, and something bad happens and bang, you are in trouble.  The leading cause of personal bankruptcy in America is health care costs!  What does that tell you?

The fact is as a nation we are spending more than we need to.  In fact double (or more) per head than all European nations.  Yet we get far less back than other countries like France or Germany.  This issue is not about paying more tax, or the government ruining everything.  Its about cracking down on greedy out of control corporations who would rather make big bucks than save lives.

Please do educate yourself on this important issue.  Like many issues it is not as simple as one might think.

Finally, I'd just like to say this.  Imagine someone is lazy, stupid or otherwise irresponsible.  They spend all their money on booze, cars, and credit cards.  They don't get insurance for their family.  Then their child gets sick.  The child dies because of lack of proper medical care.  Do you really think that as a society we should be okay with this?  Do you think that if someone is lazy or plans badly that they, their spouse, or their kids deserve to DIE as a punishment?

Sorry, but no matter how hard I try, I cannot really understand the conservative approach to this particular issue.

Answer 7

I have a better question for you. why is the united states the only wealthy industrialized nation out there that still has privatized healthcare. while the others have universal healthcare that provides healthcare to all its citizens with no cost to them ?

Answer 8

Uninsured U.S. _citizens_ is a small number.  Of the so-called 42million "uninsured", over 20million (as of 2005, NOT 2008) were NOT CITIZENS! and were HERE ILLEGALLY!.  

Now the number of "uninsured" is 22million.  Of that number, over 2/3 are _called_ uninsured because they are not the _primary_ insured, but are part of that person's family.  

That leaves about 7 million "uninsured".  

Of that 7 million, about 5 percent do not need to purchase health insurance.  That leaves about 6 1/2 million uninsured.  Of those people, there are about 30 percent veterans who qualify for VA health benefits. That leaves about 4 1/2 million uninsured. 40 percent of those are on welfare and have free healthcare anyway. That leaves about 2,700,000 uninsured.

Ok, that's a big number, but in the U.S.A., anyone who goes to a hospital E.R. MUST be treated for serious illness/injury without regard to that person's ability to pay.

The "healthcare crisis" is just a scare tactic, like climate change.  

It's the libs attempting to overrun those who actually WANT the U.S.A. to prosper.

We must never mistake education for intelligence, ambition for ability, or energy for experience but...

that is _exactly_ what Obama supporters have accomplished.

OBAMA is UNFIT to be PRESIDENT.

Answer 9

Because half of the uninsured Americans, are uninsured BY CHOICE.  They'd rather spend their money on something else.  

Sure, they COULD buy it, it's even available through their employers.  

Our problem here isn't really access to health insurance.  It's poor money management skills.  As you have hinted at.

Answer 10

Possible reasons:

Where they live vs. cost of living

Don't have as many tax deductions as you do

Helping out other family members

Loss of job/or decent paying job

on and on and on

Try not to judge people so much.

Answer 11

They are not expecting the Federal Government to help them...They are expecting you to help them.  The vast majority of uninsured people in this country either do so by choice, or they are here illegally.  

If they don't want to pay for it voluntarily, why should I be obligated to buy it for them?  

If they are not entitled to it, why should I buy it for them?

Either way, even without insurance, they still have access to healthcare.  That's what Emergency Rooms are for.  By law, they cannot turn people away.

Answer 12

Well, we dont make anywhere near 50k but we dont have insurance. Our daughter is on medicaid, which is provided with the tax money we pay. so all were doing is getting some of our hard earned money back to keep our daughter healthy. Now why someone making 50k cant, i dont know, maybe they live in a much more expensive area. But my husband and i go without it bc its cheaper to buy our own percriptions when needed then to pay the outrageous cost of insurance.