Uninsured America

Friday, Aug. 31, 2007 | 10 p.m.

More than 47 million people lacked health insurance last year, an increase of 2.2 million since 2005, according to a Census Bureau report that will frame the debate over insurance when Congress returns after Labor Day.

Congress is locked in a struggle with the Bush administration over a program that provides health insurance for low-income children. The House and Senate are trying to reconcile competing bills that would boost the program by $50 billion over the next five years to increase the number of children on the plan. The White House wants no more than a $5 billion increase, and President Bush is threatening a veto of anything more.

The administration's plan falls far short of what is needed. The Census Bureau found that 1 in 5 children living in poverty lack health insurance.

Unfortunately, some on the far right are trying to poison the debate by branding this an “entitlement” or saying it competes with private insurance. Those are ridiculous arguments. The reality is those affected by the plan have no ability to afford private health insurance, which has become a luxury for many Americans.

The percentage of uninsured people in America is the highest in eight years, according to the Census Bureau. There has been a decrease in the percentage of people who receive insurance from their jobs. The Census also found an increase of 1.3 million in the number of people who had jobs but didn't have insurance.

People are turning down coverage because premiums are rising far faster than wages. Premiums rose 7.7 percent last year, more than twice the rate of inflation, according to a study by the Kaiser Family Foundation.

Critics complain about the costs of expanding the children's health insurance program, but the costs of treating the uninsured won't go away if the program is not expanded. When people without insurance need medical care, they usually go to a hospital emergency room, which is expensive. The cost of those visits is typically borne by taxpayers, who pay for public hospitals and indigent care.

Providing affordable medical care is the right thing to do. The plan in Congress is a good start toward addressing this problem.