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CCH® BENEFITS — 02/16/12

Nearly 60 Percent Of Low Income Adults Uninsured For At Least Part Of Year In 2011

from Spencer’s Benefits Reports: Fifty-seven percent of adults ages 19 to 64 in families earning less than 133 percent of the federal poverty level (FPL; $29,726 for a family of four) were uninsured for at least part of the year in 2011, according to recent research from The Commonwealth Fund. The February 2012 report, The Income Divide in Health Care: How the Affordable Care Act Will Help Restore Fairness to the U.S. Health System, also noted that 41 percent of these low income Americans were uninsured for one or more years.

Among adults in households with moderate incomes—those earning between 133 percent and 249 percent of FPL ($55,875 for a family of four)—more than one-third (36 percent) lacked health insurance during 2011 and nearly one-quarter (23 percent) had been uninsured for one or more years, the study noted. In contrast, only 12 percent of adults earning 400 percent of FPL or more ($89,400 for a family of four) were uninsured during the year, with 4 percent uninsured for one year or more.

The Commonwealth Fund also found the following:

• Half of those with incomes between 133 percent and 249 percent of FPL lacked a regular source of care;
• Half of individuals under 133 percent of FPL have used the emergency room to get a prescription written;
• Just one out of ten low-income uninsured adults over age 50 had been screened for colon cancer, as recommended, while half of those in the same income range with health coverage had gotten the screening; and
• Only 32 percent of low-income women without insurance between ages 40 and 64 had received a mammogram, compared to 66 percent of low-income women with coverage.

The survey contains responses from 2,134 individuals ages 19 to 64. For more information, visit http://www.commonwealthfund.org/Publications/Issue-Briefs/2012/Feb/Income-Divide.aspx.

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