New Uninsured Numbers Expected Any Day From Census; NCPA Experts Available to Explain Nature of Uninsured, Discuss Possible Solutions

9/6/2002

From: Sean Tuffnell or Richard Walker, 800-859-1154 both of the National Center for Policy Analysis

DALLAS, Sept. 6, -- The annual report on the number of Americans without health insurance is expected any day from the Census Bureau. While most expect the number to rise, health experts from the National Center for Policy Analysis (NCPA) argue that due to flaws in the report's methodology, it grossly overstates the problem, possibly by a factor of two.

"The report overstates the number of uninsured in America, which fosters false assumptions about the problems with health insurance," said John C. Goodman, president of the National Center for Policy Analysis (NCPA). "Without a better understanding of who is uninsured and why, politicians tend to make bad policy prescriptions."

A common misconception is that most uninsured simply cannot afford the cost of health insurance coverage when, according to an NCPA brief analysis, the growth among uninsured in recent years has come from moderate to high-income families, who mainly are uninsured by choice. (http://www.ncpa.org/pub/ba/ba379/)

NCPA research also shows that expansion of government programs such as Medicaid and S-CHIPs, one of the most commonly proposed solutions, doesn't solve the problem of the uninsured because those programs often substitute public funds in place of private insurance, leaving little changed. For example, as many as 75 percent of the "new" coverage resulting from Medicaid expansions in the early 1990s was offset by a reduction in employer coverage. (http://www.ncpa.org/pub/ba/ba415/)

"Carefully crafted tax credit proposals, like those offered by President Bush, have the ability to insure 6 million previously uninsured Americans," Goodman added, "with very little offset in terms of reduced private coverage."

NCPA health policy experts, including John C. Goodman and NCPA Senior Fellow Greg Scandlen are available to discuss the new report, the uninsured and the effectiveness of proposed solutions. Contact the NCPA's Public Affairs office at 972-386-6272.

------ The NCPA is an internationally known nonprofit, nonpartisan research institute with offices in Dallas and Washington, D. C. that advocates personal solutions to public policy problems. We depend on the contributions of individuals, corporations and foundations that share our mission. The NCPA accepts no government grants.