The Commonwealth Fund study is based on the Commonwealth Fund Biennial Health Insurance Survey of 2005 that “examined the experience of adults ages 19 to 64 in the individual insurance market compared with adults with employer-based coverage.”
Not surprisingly adults looking for health coverage in the individual market “never end up buying a plan, finding it either very difficult or impossible to find one that met their needs or is affordable.” Only “8 percent of adults ages 19 to 64 who are privately insured all year, or 8.5 million people, are covered through the individual insurance market.”
Some of the other results of the study are shocking yet not too surprising:
- Insurance in the individual market is often impossible to obtain or unaffordable. Nearly nine of 10 people who explored obtaining coverage through the individual market never bought a plan, citing difficulties finding affordable coverage or being turned down.
- More than half of adults with coverage through the individual market have annual premium costs of $3,000 or more, compared with one of five covered by employer plans.
- Two of five adults (43%) covered through the individual market spent more than 10 percent of their incomes on premiums and family out-of-pocket medical expenses, compared with one of four (24%) of those insured through employer plans.
Could this study be yet more proof of an absolute need for a complete re haul of the current insurance system in this country? Please let me know if I am a nut in regards to my viewpoint or just plain sensible.
