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Chicago Tribune

Health care

25 million people in U.S. classified as underinsured

A study in this month's Health Affairs journal found that 25 million people ages 19 to 64 were underinsured in 2007, up from 16 million in 2003. The study's authors define "underinsured" as those families earning more than $40,000 who have health insurance but still spend 10 percent or more of their income on out-of-pocket medical expenses (or 5 percent of their income if they make less than $40,000).

Nearly 50 million additional people have no health insurance at all. In all, "You end up with about 75 million adults who were either underinsured or uninsured at some time during the year," says study co-author Sara Collins, an assistant vice president of the Commonwealth Fund, a foundation that supports independent health care research.

Those with inadequate insurance coverage were almost as likely as those with no insurance to avoid getting needed care or to have medically related financial problems. Some 53 percent of the underinsured went without needed care, compared with 68 percent of the uninsured. And 45 percent of underinsured people had trouble paying medical bills, compared with 51 percent of uninsured people.

"You can have health insurance and still go bankrupt if you get sick," the authors wrote.

Los Angeles Times