![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() |
![]() |
Myths about Health Insurance Myth: It’s easy for individuals and small businesses to buy insurance. Not true, because the risk pool is so small, and through adverse selection, health insurance rates are generally much higher for these markets. This is not helped by the fact that Pennsylvania is one of only two states that does not regulate the factors insurance companies can use in rate setting. This leaves the most vulnerable citizens - those with pre-existing conditions - either unable to find insurance, or when they do find it, with unaffordable premiums. At the same time, small employers see their premiums rise each year, often times to a point they can no longer afford to pay.
Myth: The uninsured are young adults who don’t want health insurance:
Nearly 4 in 10 uninsured adults are between the ages of 19 and 29.
Additionally, according to a 2008 Pennsylvania Insurance Department
survey, and as explored in a previous myth, the reason they are
uninsured is predominantly cost, not that they don’t want coverage. In
addition, this population has significantly lower financial stability
and is at a greater risk or financial difficulty from health care
related expenses. Making an affordable quality health insurance product
available to them would allow many of these young adults to purchase
health insurance coverage. Myth: The uninsured are able to get health care without too much trouble even without insurance. Not true, the access to affordable health care services is greatly diminished for individuals lacking health care insurance. The uninsured are more likely to delay care and when they do seek care it is often in the most expensive setting, the emergency room. Paying out-of-pocket for this expensive care that would more appropriately be handled in a different and more cost-effective care setting is an increasingly difficult task. Since 1981 there has been a nearly six-fold increase in the proportion of families filing for bankruptcy because of medical expenses. Ensuring that individuals have affordable health insurance will allow individuals to seek preventative care at appropriate levels and hopefully stem the tide of mounting medical expenses forcing families to file bankruptcy. Myth: My employer provides me with health insurance so I don't have to worry: While employer based health insurance is the most common type of health insurance, a recent study by the Economic Policy Institute found that Pennsylvania was losing employer provided health insurance in numbers at a rate second only to Michigan. Specifically, between 2000 and 2007, 560,945 Pennsylvanians lost their employer provided health insurance. Many employers are finding it difficult to continue to pay the rising costs of health insurance premiums and are no longer offering health insurance benefits. Myth: There are no serious adverse health affects resulting from a lack of health insurance. Not true, according to the Kaiser Family Foundation
uninsured adults are three times more likely to delay seeking care than
insured adults resulting in a higher likelihood of being diagnosed with
a disease in the advanced stage. Myth: Most of the uninsured are uninsured by choice. Not true, according to a 2008 Pennsylvania Insurance Department survey, nearly 58% of uninsured adults said cost was “absolutely the reason” for not having health insurance, and 86% cited cost as at least one reason. Less than 10% listed said cost was not much of a factor for not having health insurance. These findings indicate that the uninsured want insurance but simply cannot afford it. Myth: The number of uninsured is inflated because most people are only uninsured briefly. Not true, according to the 2008 Pennsylvania Insurance Department Health Insurance Survey, of the nearly 880,000 uninsured individuals 44% reported being uninsured for one year or longer. Of those, 18% reported having gone without health insurance for five years or longer. Myth: Being uninsured doesn’t affect me — I have insurance. In reality, the cost of providing care for the uninsured is shifted to those who have health insurance and to taxpayers. In Pennsylvania, an estimated 6.5% of every insurance premium paid goes to cover the cost of providing health care for the uninsured. Additionally, a large portion of uncompensated care, health care provided by a medical facility that is not paid by the patient, is paid for with federal and state tax money. Myth: My employer provides me with health insurance so I don’t have to worry. While employer based health insurance is the most common type of health insurance, a recent study by the Economic Policy Institute found that Pennsylvania was losing employer provided health insurance in numbers at a rate only second to Michigan. Specifically, between 2000 and 2007, 560,945 Pennsylvanians lost their employer provided health insurance. Many employers are finding it difficult to continue to pay the rising costs of health insurance premiums and are no longer offering health insurance benefits. Myth: Most of the uninsured are not employed. In fact, of the nearly 880,000 uninsured adults in Pennsylvania,
63% are employed and two-thirds of them are employed full time. Many
of the uninsured work for small businesses that would like to offer
health insurance for their employees but can not keep up with rising
premiums, or they work in low wage jobs and can not afford to purchase
health insurance from their employer or in the individual insurance
market. |
||
| Copyright © Commonwealth of Pennsylvania |