Commonwealth Fund: Number of “Underinsured” Adults Has Skyrocketed Since 2003

Pretty depressing news from The Commonwealth Fund today. According to a new study, the number of “underinsured” adults, that is adults who have health insurance but whose coverage would not protect them against high medical costs, has grown 80% since 2003, up to an estimated 29 million Americans. That means that almost half of all adult Americans (44% or 81 million people) were either underinsured or uninsured in 2010, up from 75 million in 2007 and 61 million in 2003.

“Underinsured families are at nearly as high risk as the uninsured because, while they have health insurance, holes or limits in their plans expose them to often unaffordable medical costs,” said lead study author and Commonwealth Fund Senior Vice President Cathy Schoen. “To reduce the number of underinsured, it will be critical for the plans offered under the Affordable Care Act reforms to keep deductibles and out-of-pocket costs low for essential, effective health care.”

In addition to the question of underinsurance, the study also found:

Additional Study Findings:

■ Low-income families were most at risk: three quarters of those with incomes below $20,000 were either underinsured (26%) or uninsured (52%).

■ However, coverage has also eroded for middle income families. By 2010, nearly one out of six (16%) of adults with incomes between $40,000 and $60,000 a year were underinsured and another 19 percent were uninsured. In contrast, in 2003, only 5 percent of adults with incomes in this range were underinsured.

■ Underinsured adults often pay premiums that are high relative to their incomes in addition to facing high deductibles, limits on the number of visits and caps on what the plan will pay in a year. One-third (33%) of underinsured adults reported deductibles of $1,000 or more; 19 percent spent 10 percent or more of their income on premiums.

Remember: high-deductible health insurance is better than no health insurance at all, but you still need to be able to afford that high, high deductible. With health insurance premiums rising even for high-deductible health insurance, you have to consider whether the plan is worth it if you can’t even afford the decutible.

Can you afford your high deductible if you really end up in a medical emergency? Tell us about it!

Related posts:

1. Is There Any Relief in Sight for Americans Without Health Insurance?
2. Nearly 50 million Americans On Medicaid for Health Insurance in 2009
3. Michigan Pre-Existing Condition Insurance Plan (PCIP) To Drop Health Insurance Premiums
4. As Many As 5 Million Uninsured Californians Could Gain Health Insurance in 2014, UCLA Report Says
5. Healthcare Reform: Pre-existing Conditions and the Federal Health Insurance Pool