Health Care: one of the most important issues facing American families, American businesses, and the American government.

Some Key Statistics:

• Nearly 46 million Americans, or 18 percent of the population under the age of 65, were without health insurance in 2007, the latest government data available.1

• Nearly 90 million people – about one-third of the population below the age of 65 spent a portion of either 2006 or 2007 without health coverage.3

• In 2007, 37 million workers were uninsured because not all businesses offer health benefits, not all workers qualify for coverage and many employees cannot afford their share of the health insurance premium even when coverage is at their fingertips.1

• About 20 percent of the uninsured (vs. three percent of those with coverage) say their usual source of care is the emergency room.2

For more statistics on Health Care visit: http://www.nchc.org/facts/coverage.shtml

Notes

1. DeNavas-Walt, C.B. Proctor, and J. Smith. Income, Poverty, and Health Insurance Coverage in the United States: 2007. U.S. Census Bureau., August 2008.

2. The Henry J. Kaiser Family Foundation. The Uninsured: A Primer, Key Facts About Americans without Health Insurance. October 2006. http://www.kff.org/uninsured/

3. Families USA. Wrong Direction: One Out of Three Americans are Uninsured. September 2007. http://familiesusa.org/assets/pdfs/wrong-direction.pdf

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