The U.S. Census Bureau recently released figures indicating that the number of uninsured individuals in America has risen over the past year. This issue is derived from the economic times our country is enduring, but regardless it is one that needs to be remedied as soon as possible.

According to the Census Bureau the number of uninsured individuals has grown 1.3% over the past year; namely, from 45.7 million people in 2007 to 46.3 million people in 2008. Not surprisingly, employment based, as wells as private insurance coverage dropped, while enrollment through government sponsored plans such as Medicare grew. America did however experience an increase in the number of insured children in the past year by nearly 10%. That is a drastic transformation, and on that should be congratulated.

Read the full post on Number of Uninsured People Rising.

Obtaining health insurance coverage not only protects you and your family from financial ruin, but alleviates the financial burden of having insurance for your fellow Americans. Why? Not only is the cost of medical care more for the uninsured, but if unpaid the burden of subsidizing the expenses fall upon the government and those who are insured.

It has been estimated that the uninsured only compensate roughly 30% of their total medical bills. The outcome of these financial shortcomings results in hospitals and physicians being inadequately reimbursed. Unfortunately, the government typically does not subsidize hospitals and doctors so the cost falls upon private insurance carriers. This cost then undoubtedly trickles down to the insured by way of their monthly premium. Specifically, on average 8% of a family’s health insurance premium is directly related to paying for the uninsured.

Read the full post on Cost of the Uninsured.