Must-read for US employers and lawmakers: 43% of working adults are functionally uninsured

The Commonwealth Fund has published a report that is a must-read for employers and lawmakers. If they read nothing else this year, this should be it.

The report is based on a recent survey of American adults to determine how many of us are adequately insured. You can read the full report here, but below are the highlights:

• 43% of working adults in this country were inadequately insured this year. They are, in essence, functionally uninsured.

  

• 29% of us with employer coverage were underinsured.

• 44% of us who buy coverage through the individual market or ACA (Obamacare) marketplaces were underinsured.

• 46% of those surveyed said they had skipped or delayed care because of the cost.

• 42% said they had problems paying medical bills or were paying off medical debt.

• 49% said they would be unable to pay for an unexpected $1,000 medical bill within 30 days.

• People with low incomes and people of color, regardless of whether they are covered by employer insurance or by an individual or marketplace plan, were underinsured at a higher rate than people with higher incomes. (That should surprise no one considering how insurers use high-deductibles as a blunt, one-size-fits-all “solution” to reduce the number of medical claims they pay.

• Up to a fourth of people with chronic problems said they had not filled a prescription in the past year for their health care condition because of the cost.

  

• Not only are insurers’ out-of-pocket requirements a huge barrier to care, but so is the ever-rising cost of health insurance. Premium costs are the main reason millions of Americans don’t buy coverage or drop their coverage. (As I wrote this week, the cost of health insurance increased more than 24% over the past 12 months.)

Want to know more about this growing crisis? Check out the Lower-Out-of-Pockets NOW coalition. And if you have a story to tell, let us know.