11.3: Health Care and Insurance

Another measure of economic well-being is health care coverage (see Table 2). The U.S. Census Bureau reported that in 2007 about \(15.3 \%\) or over 45 million in the U.S. had no health care coverage. \({ }^9\) Health care coverage is a major economic resource. Again White and Asian categories are in the higher strata on this resource. They have the lowest uninsured rates. Hispanics have the highest level of not being insured. Since nearly \(60 \%\) of insurance is provided by employers, it makes sense that young adults (18-34 year olds) would be less likely to have insurance because they are still getting their formal educations and establishing their careers.

What about the nearly \(11 \%\) of children overall without insurance or the nearly \(18 \%\) of children in poverty without it? This is difficult to justify in today's modern society. Every wealthy country to which the U.S. compares itself (Western Europe, Australia, Japan, etc.) offers health insurance as a right to all, not just a privilege to the wealthier people in the higher strata. The lower the income one has, the higher the risk of being uninsured. About 1 in 4 who work parttime or do not work at all have no insurance, while only \(17 \%\) of full-time workers went without. The 2010 Federal Health Care Reform legislation established the first federal attempt to make health care coverage a right rather than a privilege. This monumental change will unfold over the next few years and time will tell how effective it is in equaling access to health care.

Table \(\PageIndex{2}\): US Percent of Uninsured by Selected Characteristics 2007.¹⁰

Category	% Uninsured
Race
White	14.3%
Black	19.5%
Asian	16.8%
Hispanic	32.1%
Age
< 6 years old	10.5%
6-11 years old	10.3%
12-17 years old	12.0%
<18 years old	19.0%
18-24 years old	28.1%
25-34 years old	25.7%
35-44 years old	18.3%
45-64 years old	14.0%
65+ years old	1.9%
Income Level of Family
<$25,000 per year income	24.5%
$25-49,999 per year income	21.1%
$50-74,999 per year income	14.5%
$75,000 per year income	7.8%
Parents' Work Status
Worked Full-time	17.0%
Worked Part-time	23.4%
Did Not Work	25.4%

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