New Census Report Paints Alarming Picture Of Uninsured Population In America

By Consumers For Quality Care, on September 23, 2020

According to a recent census report, a growing number of Americans were without health insurance last year, even before the coronavirus pandemic swept the country.

As Politico reports, the gains made in the number of insured Americans under the Obama administration continue to slowly erode. 30 million Americans did not have health insurance last year, an increase of one million from the previous year.

The numbers are doubly troubling because they do not account for the coronavirus pandemic’s effects, which has thrown millions off of their employer-based care. The numbers also point to another “massive” problem, according to Politico.

The growing ranks of the uninsured also point to a massive problem that Obamacare has yet to address: cost. Last year some 45 percent of the nation’s uninsured said they lacked coverage because the costs were too high, according to a Kaiser Family Foundation analysis.

The report showed the growing economic strain that paying for health care inflicts on the lives of Americans. According to the census data, 7.7 million more people would be considered poor when factoring in their spending on health care.

The report also outlines the differences between many states. Notably, Virginia recorded an increase in the number of people insured, largely due to their expansion of Medicaid under the Affordable Care Act.