The Uninsured

In Wisconsin, 1,094,000 residents, or almost 24% of the population went without health care for some part of the last 2 years. Because the cost of health care keeps rising out of control, being uninsured can happen to any of us. And when it does happen, it means our families are more likely to either forego needed medical care or experience severe financial hardship trying to afford it.

Fact:  538,000 Wisconsin residents were without health insurance for all of last year.¹

Fact:  Another 556,000 were without of insurance for part of the last two years.²

Fact: 16% of the uninsured in Wisconsin are children 18 and under.³

Fact:  The uninsured have 25 percent higher mortality rates and are more likely to die at a younger age.⁴

Fact:  After job loss, being uninsured and getting sick is the most common reason people file bankruptcy.⁵

1. Demand greater corporate responsibility from large employers to ensure that more provide affordable family coverage.
2. Expand eligibility guidelines to cover more people in CHIP and Medicaid.
3. Set up mechanisms that help small businesses better afford health insurance.

1 U.S. Census Bureau, Current Population Survey, 2003 Annual Demographic Supplements.
2 Families USA "Going Without Health Insurance" March 5, 2002.
3 KFF State Health Facts. 2002.
4 Institute of Medicine, Care Without Coverage, 2002.
5 "Rethinking the Debates over Health Care Financing: Evidence from the Bankruptcy Courts," with Jacoby and Sullivan 176 NYU Law Review (2001).