Uninsurable and Underinsured

A growing population of uninsured individuals are the "uninsurable". These are individuals who can't qualify for insurance because of pre-existing conditions, such as chronic illnesses, previous cancer, auto-immune disorder, etc. Because of the high cost of health care these individuals require, private insurers are unwilling to take the risk, so much of the costs in caring for these individuals is passed onto the rest of us just as the costs for the uninsured. There are programs in each state that subsidize care for those who qualify, but it is not a low cost plan, the covered person has to pay a premium that is often unaffordable.

The definition of underinsured "means that public or private health insurance coverage does not cover the costs of medically necessary services relative to family income, resulting in out-of-pocket expenses that exceed an insured individuals ability to pay." www.coloradotrust.org Small business owners, entrepreneurs, employers who opt for high deductible plans, young adults and Medicare recipients can all fall into this category. The underinsured are almost as vulnerable as the uninsured in terms of the eventual high cost of care, because they too delay being seen because they can't afford the initial cost to seek care.

The next post will have the mandates that are part of the reform bill's Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act to address the uninsured, underinsured and uninsurable.