46.6 Million and Counting: A Look Behind the Number of Uninsured Americans

The Census Bureau’s recently released figure on the number of uninsured in 2005 is 46.6 million, an increase of 1.3 million people over 2004. Two new studies by John Holahan and Bowen Garrett of the Urban Institute offer in-depth analyses of the economic and demographic factors that underlie this troubling statistic.

Who are the uninsured? What factors caused the substantial increase, at a time when economic growth continues and unemployment rates remain low? What are the trends in employer-sponsored coverage? What implications do these trends have for efforts to reduce the ranks of the uninsured? What impact did public coverage programs have on the rate of uninsured?

To explore the answers to these questions and more, the Alliance for Health Reform and the Kaiser Family Foundation sponsored an October 19 luncheon briefing. Panelists included: Bowen Garrett, Urban Institute; John Holahan; The Urban Institute, Jeanne Lambrew; Center for American Progress and The George Washington University; and Chip Kahn, Federation of American Hospitals. Ed Howard of the Alliance and Diane Rowland of the Foundation were moderators.

Transcript

Full Transcript (Adobe Acrobat PDF)

Speaker Presentations

Holahan’s Presentation (Adobe Acrobat PDF)
Garrett’s Presentation (Adobe Acrobat PDF)