Study Says 86.7 Million Americans Were Uninsured in 2007-08

The number of uninsured Americans has jumped as the recession has taken a toll. About 86.7 million people, or one out of three Americans under 65, were without health insurance at some point during 2007 and 2008, according to a study by Families USA, a consumer health advocacy group.

About 75% of those people were without health insurance for at least six months, and 60% lacked insurance for at least nine months. Working families made up more than half the number of the uninsured.

Ron Pollack, executive director of Families USA, said:

The huge number of people without health coverage is worse than an epidemic. At this point, almost everyone in the country has had a family member, neighbor, or friend who was uninsured, and that’s why meaningful health care reform can no longer be kept on the back burner.

People without insurance are more likely to rely on emergency rooms for health care, go without preventive care, and completely forgo medical care. When they do receive medical care they pay a higher price than those who are insured.

The study places the number of those who went without health insurance higher than the U.S. Census bureau, which reports there were 45.7 million uninsured Americans in 2007. Some critics of the Families USA study say the organization’s number is misleading, according to CNN.

Regardless, of what the actual number is, many people are watching to see what President Barack Obama’s administration will do to fix the health care system. Obama’s health care summit convened at the White House this week to discuss issues with the quality and affordability of health care. Obama told those at the meeting that “health care reform is no longer just a moral imperative, it’s a fiscal imperative.”

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