Before elected officials look for solutions for the need for affordable health insurance, they need to understand who the uninsured are and why so many people lack coverage. With the information in hand, elected officials may be able to identify cost-effective ways to help the uninsured gain access to affordable health insurance coverage. Many health policy experts have raised questions about whether the Census Bureau's methodology of tracking the uninsured is accurate, speculating that it overcounts the number of people without coverage. That there is a need for affordable health insurance however, is fairly well certain even to those who resist this thought.
Do We Really Need Affordable Health Insurance For All?
The United States census reports as many as 15% of the population is in need of affordable health insurance but numbers are seen to very. That's because the Census Bureau uses a
"point in time" approach. That is, the uninsured number represents how many people lack coverage on any given day. And while there still may be 46.6 million uninsured the next month, it won't be exactly the same people, since some will have gotten coverage and
others lost it. But that there is a need for affordable health insurance is not the question, the question is how great is that need.
Exactly What Portion Of The Population Needs Affordable Health Insurance?
There is a need for affordable health insurance but the size of the need is in question. Recently, several states have conducted their own surveys and found their uninsured rate is lower than that reported by the Census Bureau. For example, when Massachusetts conducted its own survey of the state's uninsured, it found that roughly 7 percent (460,000 out of a population of 6.4 million) were without coverage - much lower than the 10.7 percent
estimated by the Census Bureau. Thus, while the Census Bureau's uninsured numbers may be the best we have, there has been a long-standing concern about their accuracy.