Latest report puts 1 in 3 Americans without health insurance

A new state-by-state look at the uninsured paints a bleak picture of the state of health insurance nationwide and in the Greater Philadelphia region.

A new state-by-state look at the uninsured paints a bleak picture of the state of health insurance nationwide and in the Greater Philadelphia region.

Transcript:
A health care reform advocate group looked at how many Americans under 65 were uninsured for more than a month during the last two years. Families USA confirmed their prediction that the swelling ranks of the uninsured long predates the economic meltdown last year.

Families USA President Ron Pollack says that nationally, about 33 percent of Americans were without insurance during 2007 and 2008. He says about three quarters of them didn’t have health care for at least six months.

Pollack: “At this point, almost everyone in the country has had a family member, neighbor, or friend who is uninsured.”

Pennsylvania and Delaware did slightly better than the nation as a whole, with 27 and 28 percent, respectively, reporting they didn’t have health insurance.  New Jersey was about in line with the country at 32 percent.

More information:
Americans At Risk – State-by-state reports health insurance coverage are available at the Families USA website

Listen:
Click on the play button below or right click on this link and choose “Save Link As” to download. [audio: reports20090407insurance.mp3]