Get Your Facts

Facts about the Uninsured

In 2007, a US Census Bureau study estimated that there were 45.657 million uninsured people in the United States
The Census Bureau also estimated that in the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania there were around 1.2 million uninsured individuals. This means about 9.8% of the state’s total population lacks health care coverage.

About 70% of uninsured adult (ages 18-64) Pennsylvanians are employed.
In Pennsylvania, African Americans are about 2 times more likely to lack health insurance when compared to white residents.
Nationally, young adults ages 18-34 make up about half of the uninsured population. Studies in Pennsylvania show similar results and find that this age group is most likely to go without health insurance.

It’s estimated that 2 Pennsylvanians will die every single day because they lack health insurance.
These individuals often delay care and avoid hospitals and doctors out of fear of high medical costs.
People who lack health insurance are nearly 16 times more likely to say that they avoided health care from a doctor out of fear of high costs.
Uninsured individuals are less likely to receive preventive screenings for diseases like cancer and often go without treatment for chronic conditions such as diabetes.
20% of the nation’s uninsured stated that the emergency room was their “usual source of care.” This is compared to only 3% of insured individuals.

From 2000-2007 in Pennsylvania, health insurance premiums rose an astounding 86.2% for working families.
Over the past 8 years, health insurance premiums rose 6.4 times faster than wages for Pennsylvania families.
Illnesses and major hospital bills account for about half of all personal bankruptcies that are filed. A majority of these individuals were insured at the start of the illness that caused the bankruptcy.