Obamacare passed because of"basically, call it the stupidity of the American voter "

[healthmyths]

is anyone really surprised? These lies not only affect dumb democrats but the entire country. It's the case of throwing the baby out with the bath water (Ocare). To "lift up a few" (doesn't even do that)- you force EVERYONE to conform to this lie. Higher rates, more money for Ocare.

And for what? What was the most widely held reason Obamacare should be passed?
Because there was a "health care crisis".
That crisis was there were 46 million Americans that were uninsured.

But wait..
The Census provided the number 46 million uninsured so it must be right!

YET this same census in the same page said 10 million of the 46 million would never get insurance as they were not citizens!
So why were these 10 million counted? Pump the numbers?
And this same Census admits they undercounted 14 million people that were eligible for Medicaid/SCHIP meaning the Census
should NOT have included them because the failure of Obama administration to get these 14 million enrolled!
Finally 18 million of the "uninsured" NEVER wanted insurance! Because they didn't need it (under 34...) could afford (made over $50,000) but didn't join employers' health plans... SO why were they counted as "uninsured"?
Puff up the numbers. There isn't a crisis when there were less then 4 million that truly wanted health insurance... as a result Obamacare would NOT have passed. But it was pumped. Exaggerated by 1,000% as Obama said:
“I don’t have to explain to you that nearly 46 million Americans don’t have health insurance coverage today. In the wealthiest nation on Earth, 46 million of our fellow citizens have no coverage."

So for you Americans that ARE obviously stupid enough to believe Obama YOU obviously are too stupid to understand simple math..i.e. 42 million subtracted from 46 million leaves less then 4 million!
YET you stupid Americans bought that figure hook, line and now you are sinking!

 

[Care4all]

Robert Byrd

Senator Robert Byrd was a Kleagle, a Klan recruiter, in his 20s and 30s.
West Virginia's Democratic United States Senator Robert C. Byrd was a recruiter for the Klan while in his 20s and 30s, rising to the title of Kleagle and Exalted Cyclops of his local chapter. After leaving the group, Byrd spoke in favor of the Klan during his early political career. Though he claimed to have left the organization in 1943, Byrd wrote a letter in 1946 to the group's Imperial Wizard stating "The Klan is needed today as never before, and I am anxious to see its rebirth here in West Virginia." Byrd defended the Klan in his 1958 U.S. Senate campaign when he was 41 years old.[9]

Despite being the only Senator to vote against both African American U.S. Supreme Court nominees (liberal Thurgood Marshall and conservative Clarence Thomas) and filibustering the Civil Rights Act of 1964, Byrd has since said joining the Klan was his "greatest mistake." The NAACP gave him a 100% rating on their issues during the 108th Congress.[10] However, in a 2001 incident Byrd repeatedly used the phrase "white *******" on a national television broadcast.[11]

so, was he a GRAND WIZARD?

the answer is NO.

NO he was not the Grand Wizard.

.

It's amazing how you stand behind the KKK Grand Wizard. Almost all of Byrd's KKK activity has been publicly revealed, as you can see, but only second-hand sources confirm that was the Grand Wizard. Think about it, a a Klan recruiter (that rank is always high up) and a SENATOR. Of course he'd be a Grand Wizard. Just because Byrd himself denied it, doesn't mean it's true.

At the very LEAST he was a Grand Dragon.

It doesn't matter....you side tracked the thread, 2ndAmend, with your irrelevant post that had nothing to do with the topic of this thread.... just to get in some useless dig against the evil 'liberals'....I usually don't play those 'games'

I simply corrected one itty bitty bit of your comment...that was incorrect....I shouldn't have done so....it only fueled your sidebar....

Senator Byrd, was a man of his time....and yes he was racist....

As much a racist as MOST men (and women) were in his era, in the South....and many other regions of our country.... it was when blacks were put at the back of the bus, were prevented from using the same public bathroom as the white man, faced near every store with a sign in the storefront saying no blacks allowed....and as hard as it is to even believe in today's world, ALL OF THIS was considered normal...

 

[Iceweasel]

As much a racist as MOST men (and women) were in his era, in the South....and many other regions of our country.... it was when blacks were put at the back of the bus, were prevented from using the same public bathroom as the white man, faced near every store with a sign in the storefront saying no blacks allowed....and as hard as it is to even believe in today's world, ALL OF THIS was considered normal...

apparently northern racism was/is much superior to southern racism.

 

[skookerasbil]

Wait 'till voters see the skyrocketing of their premiums next year when all this BS kicks in. Might see pitchforks down on Pennsylvania Ave!! Peoples heads are going to explode when they realize they are forking over so much more because nobody signed up for the jerky exchanges. My premiums are going up 28% in early 2015............as Gruber said, "We sold it to the stoopids because we could!!"

 

[healthmyths]

Wait 'till voters see the skyrocketing of their premiums next year when all this BS kicks in. Might see pitchforks down on Pennsylvania Ave!! Peoples heads are going to explode when they realize they are forking over so much more because nobody signed up for the jerky exchanges. My premiums are going up 28% in early 2015............as Gruber said, "We sold it to the stoopids because we could!!"

And for WHAT reason? bogus 46 million "uninsured"?
I really don't know what the problem is in getting really pissed about the flim flam there were 46 million uninsured when the CENSUS says 10 million of the 46 "uninsured" million WERE NOT citizens!
And I really think if the "stupid American voter" realized that the Census admits that the UNDERCOUNTED 14 million people eligible for Medicaid/SCHIP already... but for the inefficiency of Obama's administer THEY are NOT uninsured!
Finally 18 million people don't want to be insured. They don't need as they are under 34 and they can afford as the make OVER $50,000 but don't want their employers' health plan.
I would think more people be pissed realizing they were fooled to think Obamacare was necessary to help less then 4 million!
Destroy the health care system for 1.2% of the population? Especially when there was a solution that doesn't require destroying our health system!
So as I have to agree the majority of Americans that fell for that phony number and are OK with destroying our health system which worked fine for 99% of us they are stupid American voters!

 

[Mad_Cabbie]

Wait 'till voters see the skyrocketing of their premiums next year when all this BS kicks in. Might see pitchforks down on Pennsylvania Ave!! Peoples heads are going to explode when they realize they are forking over so much more because nobody signed up for the jerky exchanges. My premiums are going up 28% in early 2015............as Gruber said, "We sold it to the stoopids because we could!!"

And for WHAT reason? bogus 46 million "uninsured"?
I really don't know what the problem is in getting really pissed about the flim flam there were 46 million uninsured when the CENSUS says 10 million of the 46 "uninsured" million WERE NOT citizens!
And I really think if the "stupid American voter" realized that the Census admits that the UNDERCOUNTED 14 million people eligible for Medicaid/SCHIP already... but for the inefficiency of Obama's administer THEY are NOT uninsured!
Finally 18 million people don't want to be insured. They don't need as they are under 34 and they can afford as the make OVER $50,000 but don't want their employers' health plan.
I would think more people be pissed realizing they were fooled to think Obamacare was necessary to help less then 4 million!
Destroy the health care system for 1.2% of the population? Especially when there was a solution that doesn't require destroying our health system!
So as I have to agree the majority of Americans that fell for that phony number and are OK with destroying our health system which worked fine for 99% of us they are stupid American voters!

All 46 million uninsured people are illegal aliens? You got a link for that?

 

[Mad_Cabbie]

Wait 'till voters see the skyrocketing of their premiums next year when all this BS kicks in. Might see pitchforks down on Pennsylvania Ave!! Peoples heads are going to explode when they realize they are forking over so much more because nobody signed up for the jerky exchanges. My premiums are going up 28% in early 2015............as Gruber said, "We sold it to the stoopids because we could!!"

Once again, someone on the right is warning us good folks about what WILL happen with regards to Obamacare.

Just like the people on the left who warned us about the inevitable collapse of society due to Y2K; I'm not holding my breath.

 

[Mad_Cabbie]

regardless how it got here, it's here, and here to stay. Rather than constantly bitch about it I suggest fine tuning the legislation until it becomes more beneficial to everyone concerned.

But bitching is much easier than legislating.

Regardless of how it got here? Every bastard that voted for it should be lined up on the wall and shot for traitors.

pretty much qualifies for regardless how it got here doesn't it you dumbass ?

This is the same thing as tyranny no difference they all should be shot or hung. dumb ass.
OH and dumb ass those behind the creation consider you and those that support it stupid. And you call me a dumb ass, go to hell.

He called you a dumbass, because you call everyone that you disagree with "stoopid."

If you didn't do that ... never mind ... if you haven't gotten it by now, you won't.

 

[healthmyths]

Wait 'till voters see the skyrocketing of their premiums next year when all this BS kicks in. Might see pitchforks down on Pennsylvania Ave!! Peoples heads are going to explode when they realize they are forking over so much more because nobody signed up for the jerky exchanges. My premiums are going up 28% in early 2015............as Gruber said, "We sold it to the stoopids because we could!!"

And for WHAT reason? bogus 46 million "uninsured"?
I really don't know what the problem is in getting really pissed about the flim flam there were 46 million uninsured when the CENSUS says 10 million of the 46 "uninsured" million WERE NOT citizens! Income Poverty and Health Insurance Coverage in the United States 2009 - Income Wealth - Newsroom - U.S. Census Bureau
And I really think if the "stupid American voter" realized that the Census admits that the UNDERCOUNTED 14 million people eligible for Medicaid/SCHIP already... but for the inefficiency of Obama's administer THEY are NOT uninsured!
http://coverageforall.org/pdf/BC-BS_Uninsured-America.pdf
Finally 18 million people don't want to be insured. They don't need as they are under 34 and they can afford as the make OVER $50,000 but don't want their employers' health plan.
I would think more people be pissed realizing they were fooled to think Obamacare was necessary to help less then 4 million!
CRISIS OF THE UNINSURED 2009
Destroy the health care system for 1.2% of the population? Especially when there was a solution that doesn't require destroying our health system!
So as I have to agree the majority of Americans that fell for that phony number and are OK with destroying our health system which worked fine for 99% of us they are stupid American voters!

All 46 million uninsured people are illegal aliens? You got a link for that?

HEY Stupid American voter!!!!

"CENSUS says 10 million of the 46 "uninsured" million WERE NOT citizens!
CHECK This Census web page out proof: Income Poverty and Health Insurance Coverage in the United States 2009 - Income Wealth - Newsroom - U.S. Census Bureau

And I really think if the "stupid American voter" realized that the Census admits that they
UNDERCOUNTED 14 million people eligible for Medicaid/SCHIP already... but for the inefficiency of Obama's administer THEY are NOT uninsured! http://coverageforall.org/pdf/BC-BS_Uninsured-America.pdf

Finally 18 million people don't want to be insured. They don't need as they are under 34 and they can afford as the make OVER $50,000 but don't want their employers' health plan. CRISIS OF THE UNINSURED 2009

I would think more people be pissed realizing they were fooled to think Obamacare was necessary to help less then 4 million!
Destroy the health care system for 1.2% of the population (4 million truly uninsured divided by 310 million)!

AGAIN prove to me YOU aren't a Stupid American voter and READ the links that PROVE the fallacy of Obama's saying:
"I don’t have to explain to you that nearly 46 million Americans don’t have health insurance coverage today. In the wealthiest nation on Earth, 46 million of our fellow citizens have no coverage.”
10 million HE after ACA passed now says aren't eligible leaving 36 million!
His own Census says they undercounted by 14 million people eligible for Medicaid/SCHIP but they still counted them! It didn't require another 2,000 pages of a monstrous bill that had to be passed before it was read to get those 14 million covered... just a more efficient government!
finally Obama and other Stupid American Voters are faced with 22 million "uninsured" then... BUT what the f...k!
Why force 18 million people who DON"T WANT, Don't NEED (under 34) and can afford! Why count them unless you are performing a
scam on the "stupidity of the American voter"!!!

 

[Mad_Cabbie]

Wait 'till voters see the skyrocketing of their premiums next year when all this BS kicks in. Might see pitchforks down on Pennsylvania Ave!! Peoples heads are going to explode when they realize they are forking over so much more because nobody signed up for the jerky exchanges. My premiums are going up 28% in early 2015............as Gruber said, "We sold it to the stoopids because we could!!"

And for WHAT reason? bogus 46 million "uninsured"?
I really don't know what the problem is in getting really pissed about the flim flam there were 46 million uninsured when the CENSUS says 10 million of the 46 "uninsured" million WERE NOT citizens!
And I really think if the "stupid American voter" realized that the Census admits that the UNDERCOUNTED 14 million people eligible for Medicaid/SCHIP already... but for the inefficiency of Obama's administer THEY are NOT uninsured!
Finally 18 million people don't want to be insured. They don't need as they are under 34 and they can afford as the make OVER $50,000 but don't want their employers' health plan.
I would think more people be pissed realizing they were fooled to think Obamacare was necessary to help less then 4 million!
Destroy the health care system for 1.2% of the population? Especially when there was a solution that doesn't require destroying our health system!
So as I have to agree the majority of Americans that fell for that phony number and are OK with destroying our health system which worked fine for 99% of us they are stupid American voters!

All 46 million uninsured people are illegal aliens? You got a link for that?

HEY Stupid American voter!!!!

"CENSUS says 10 million of the 46 "uninsured" million WERE NOT citizens!
CHECK This Census web page outroof: Income Poverty and Health Insurance Coverage in the United States 2009 - Income Wealth - Newsroom - U.S. Census Bureau

And I really think if the "stupid American voter" realized that the Census admits that they
UNDERCOUNTED 14 million people eligible for Medicaid/SCHIP already... but for the inefficiency of Obama's administer THEY are NOT uninsured! http://coverageforall.org/pdf/BC-BS_Uninsured-America.pdf

Finally 18 million people don't want to be insured. They don't need as they are under 34 and they can afford as the make OVER $50,000 but don't want their employers' health plan. CRISIS OF THE UNINSURED 2009

I would think more people be pissed realizing they were fooled to think Obamacare was necessary to help less then 4 million!
Destroy the health care system for 1.2% of the population (4 million truly uninsured divided by 310 million)!

AGAIN prove to me YOU aren't a Stupid American voter and READ the links that PROVE the fallacy of Obama's saying:
"I don’t have to explain to you that nearly 46 million Americans don’t have health insurance coverage today. In the wealthiest nation on Earth, 46 million of our fellow citizens have no coverage.”
10 million HE after ACA passed now says aren't eligible leaving 36 million!
His own Census says they undercounted by 14 million people eligible for Medicaid/SCHIP but they still counted them! It didn't require another 2,000 pages of a monstrous bill that had to be passed before it was read to get those 14 million covered... just a more efficient government!
finally Obama and other Stupid American Voters are faced with 22 million "uninsured" then... BUT what the f...k!
Why force 18 million people who DON"T WANT, Don't NEED (under 34) and can afford! Why count them unless you are performing a
scam on the "stupidity of the American voter"!!!

Listen, RETARD - I don't have time for your stupidity this morning. If you have a goddamned point, please pull your head out of your ass and MAKE IT.

Furthermore, I'm not going to address every one of your lame-ass, bullshit, "scandals" every time I discuss a single point in a thread. You do that in order to hide the fact that YOU lied and tried to infer that ALL those people were all illegal aliens; they weren't. I did not mention how many how many, but neither did you.

Your other figures are way off - I assume, regurgitated, right-wing propaganda that you had no intentions of ever verifying.

I just pointed that out, so fuck off, screwball.

 

[healthmyths]

Wait 'till voters see the skyrocketing of their premiums next year when all this BS kicks in. Might see pitchforks down on Pennsylvania Ave!! Peoples heads are going to explode when they realize they are forking over so much more because nobody signed up for the jerky exchanges. My premiums are going up 28% in early 2015............as Gruber said, "We sold it to the stoopids because we could!!"

And for WHAT reason? bogus 46 million "uninsured"?
I really don't know what the problem is in getting really pissed about the flim flam there were 46 million uninsured when the CENSUS says 10 million of the 46 "uninsured" million WERE NOT citizens!
And I really think if the "stupid American voter" realized that the Census admits that the UNDERCOUNTED 14 million people eligible for Medicaid/SCHIP already... but for the inefficiency of Obama's administer THEY are NOT uninsured!
Finally 18 million people don't want to be insured. They don't need as they are under 34 and they can afford as the make OVER $50,000 but don't want their employers' health plan.
I would think more people be pissed realizing they were fooled to think Obamacare was necessary to help less then 4 million!
Destroy the health care system for 1.2% of the population? Especially when there was a solution that doesn't require destroying our health system!
So as I have to agree the majority of Americans that fell for that phony number and are OK with destroying our health system which worked fine for 99% of us they are stupid American voters!

All 46 million uninsured people are illegal aliens? You got a link for that?

HEY Stupid American voter!!!!

"CENSUS says 10 million of the 46 "uninsured" million WERE NOT citizens!
CHECK This Census web page outroof: Income Poverty and Health Insurance Coverage in the United States 2009 - Income Wealth - Newsroom - U.S. Census Bureau

And I really think if the "stupid American voter" realized that the Census admits that they
UNDERCOUNTED 14 million people eligible for Medicaid/SCHIP already... but for the inefficiency of Obama's administer THEY are NOT uninsured! http://coverageforall.org/pdf/BC-BS_Uninsured-America.pdf

Finally 18 million people don't want to be insured. They don't need as they are under 34 and they can afford as the make OVER $50,000 but don't want their employers' health plan. CRISIS OF THE UNINSURED 2009

I would think more people be pissed realizing they were fooled to think Obamacare was necessary to help less then 4 million!
Destroy the health care system for 1.2% of the population (4 million truly uninsured divided by 310 million)!

AGAIN prove to me YOU aren't a Stupid American voter and READ the links that PROVE the fallacy of Obama's saying:
"I don’t have to explain to you that nearly 46 million Americans don’t have health insurance coverage today. In the wealthiest nation on Earth, 46 million of our fellow citizens have no coverage.”
10 million HE after ACA passed now says aren't eligible leaving 36 million!
His own Census says they undercounted by 14 million people eligible for Medicaid/SCHIP but they still counted them! It didn't require another 2,000 pages of a monstrous bill that had to be passed before it was read to get those 14 million covered... just a more efficient government!
finally Obama and other Stupid American Voters are faced with 22 million "uninsured" then... BUT what the f...k!
Why force 18 million people who DON"T WANT, Don't NEED (under 34) and can afford! Why count them unless you are performing a
scam on the "stupidity of the American voter"!!!

Listen, RETARD - I don't have time for your stupidity this morning. If you have a goddamned point, please pull your head out of your ass and MAKE IT.

Furthermore, I'm not going to address every one of your lame-ass, bullshit, "scandals" every time I discuss a single point in a thread. You do that in order to hide the fact that YOU lied and tried to infer that ALL those people were all illegal aliens; they weren't. I did not mention how many how many, but neither did you.

I just pointed that out, so fuck off, screwball.

WHERE DID I INFER 46 million were illegal aliens?!
This is exactly what I wrote and you obviously DIDN"T READ!

"I really don't know what the problem is in getting really pissed about the flim flam there were 46 million uninsured
when the CENSUS says 10 million of the 46 "uninsured" million WERE NOT citizens!

WHERE YOU ignorant RETARDED "STUPID American voter" is there ANY reference that 46 million were "illegal aliens" ?
Those are my exact words... you "stupid American voter"! NOT ONE reference that all 46 million were "illegal aliens"!
Again you are proving Gruber right there are "stupid American voters" and he and his ilk took great advantage and joy in
showing you how f...king retarded you are!

 

[healthmyths]

Now do the rest of you understand WHY Gruber said what he said.."stupidity of American voter"...when this idiot is a perfect example of what
Gruber and his ilk KNOW that idiots like this don't have one iota of reading comprehension! These "stupid voters" are their targets and now the rest of you are reading the validation of it!

 

[Mad_Cabbie]

Again, your post was very hard to read with all the grammatical errors, slow down a little, cowboy!

"They don't need as they are under 34 and they can afford as the make OVER $50,000 but don't want their employers' health plan."

^^^^ huh?

 

[healthmyths]

I can't read half of what you write, are you drunk?

Punctuation and proper grammar are your friends.

GEEZ this coming from someone who can't read the following 35 words:
"I really don't know what the problem is in getting really pissed about the flim-flam there were 46 million uninsured
when the CENSUS says 10 million of the 46 "uninsured" million WERE NOT citizens!"

Can you see the more you post the more people see why Gruber was counting on "stupidity of American voters"?

I encourage you to continue to comment because all you are doing is validating what those of us the KNEW the pomposity and elitists' attitudes
of Gruber and their ilk counted on in passing Obamacare and more importantly getting Obama elected..."stupidity of American voters" that
don't know 10 million of the 46 million they said were uninsured were not citizens, or dummies like you didn't know and they took advantage of your ignorance that 14 million were already eligible for Medicaid/SCHIP and finally pumping the number up by including 18 million that don't want, need health insurance!!!
Keep it up! You are proving the dunces Gruber was counting on!

 

[paulitician]

Hey, the man was just being honest. Gotta give him props on that. I mean, the Democratic Party Base is mostly made up of ignorant Moocher whiners, Illegals, Felons, and dumb White Communists/Progessives. The man is Spot-On. So now it's time to tweak or ditch the Obamacare debacle all-together.

 

[NYcarbineer]

Again, your post was very hard to read with all the grammatical errors, slow down a little, cowboy!

"They don't need as they are under 34 and they can afford as the make OVER $50,000 but don't want their employers' health plan."

^^^^ huh?

Sounds like an answer you might hear from a beauty pageant contestant.

 

[mudwhistle]

Obama also said it would not cost us one dime.
Obama said he would not raise taxes on anyone making less than $250k.
So the biggest tax-increase in our history is in effect and they had to lie to get it passed.

Ever wonder why so many who were involved in it's passage are gone from government today?

 

[mudwhistle]

Hey, the man was just being honest. Gotta give him props on that. I mean, the Democratic Party Base is mostly made up of ignorant Moocher whiners, Illegals, Felons, and dumb White Communists/Progessives. The man is Spot-On. So now it's time to tweak or ditch the Obamacare debacle all-together.

Nope, get rid of it entirely. It's already cost us too much. The longer it's around the more damage it will do.

 

[Coyote]

Kids, take the food fights to the Flame Zone and discuss the OP. Thank you.

 

[Mad_Cabbie]

The ‘Real’ Uninsured

• The Census Bureau estimates that 45.7 million lacked health insurance at any given time in 2007. But fewer lacked coverage for the full year, and more did without for one or more months during the year. All three numbers are likely to be higher for 2008 due to massive job losses.

• Twenty-six percent of the uninsured are eligible for some form of public coverage but do not make use of it, according to The National Institute for Health Care Management Foundation. This is sometimes, but not always, a matter of choice.

• Twenty-one percent of the uninsured are immigrants, according to the Kaiser Family Foundation. But that figure includes both those who are here legally and those who are not. The number of illegal immigrants who are included in the official statistics is unknown.

• Twenty percent of the uninsured have family incomes of greater than $75,000 per year, according to the Census Bureau. But this does not necessarily mean they have access to insurance. Even higher-income jobs don’t always offer employer-sponsored insurance, and not everyone who wants private insurance is able to get it.

• Forty percent of the uninsured are young, according to KFF. But speculation that they pass up insurance because of their good health is unjustified. KFF reports that many young people lack insurance because it’s not available to them, and people who turn down available insurance tend to be in worse health, not better, according to the Institute of Medicine

Analysis
Appearing on NBC’s "Meet the Press" on Sunday, June 21, former presidential candidate Fred Thompson said that the number of the uninsured in the U.S. has been overstated: "The 45 million … figure of uninsured is probably about twice the real number of people who can’t afford insurance or don’t have access to it really, who are not illegal aliens."

First we should note that the official Census figure for 2007 was actually 45.7 million. Thompson shaved off 700,000 uninsured persons by rounding down when he should have rounded up. And the figure for 2008 is likely to be higher, considering the millions who have lost their jobs and benefits since that figure was reported last August.

But what about his claim that illegal immigrants and middle-class earners who don’t feel like buying insurance are swelling the ranks of the uninsured? That theme has been popular lately, appearing in articles and editorials from the National Review Institute and Investor’s Business Daily, among others.

We’ve written before about the makeup of the uninsured, finding that according to the nonpartisan Kaiser Family Foundation, 79 percent are U.S. citizens, more than 80 percent are from families where at least one person holds a job, and two-thirds earn less than 200 percent of the federal poverty threshold – i.e., less than $42,406 for a family of four in 2007, the most recent year for which Census has figures for the uninsured. (KFF is a nonpartisan think tank that describes itself as "an evidence-based voice for people in the health system," especially the uninsured and "those most vulnerable and disadvantaged." It does not lobby for or against legislation.)

This does, indisputably, mean that 21 percent are not U.S. citizens (they’re both legal and illegal immigrants) and one-third earn more than 200 percent of the poverty level. Does this mean that the "real number" of the uninsured should be lower? Let’s look at some of the common claims.

Claim: The Census numbers are overstated. This depends on what is meant by "uninsured." The Census Bureau’s long-term Survey of Income and Program Participationfound that 27.6 million people were without insurance for the entire year in 2005, and 65.9 million were uninsured for at least one month during the year.

The 45.7 million figure for 2007 comes from a different survey, the Current Population Survey. CPS asks about coverage during the previous year, but the Census states that the results are a better indication of the number of persons who were without insurance at any given moment during the year:

Census: ecause health insurance coverage status can change over the course of a year, answering questions about this long reference period may lead to response errors. For example, some people may report their insurance coverage status at the time of their interview rather than their coverage status during the previous calendar year. Compared with other national surveys, the CPS ASEC’s estimate of the number of people without health insurance more closely approximates the number of people who were uninsured at a specific point in time during the year than the number of people uninsured for the entire year.

The SIPP survey, which asks the same group of people questions every four months, found that 45.2 million were uninsured in the month of December 2005, a point-in-time measurement that does indeed closely approximate the widely cited Census finding.

Claim: Many of the uninsured are not U.S. citizens. About 9.7 million of the uninsured are immigrants, both legal and illegal. The National Institute for Health Care Management Foundation estimates that 5.6 million of these are undocumented, but there are no hard data on that – NIHCM stresses that "the CPS does not collect information on legal status among non-citizens." Immigrants, especially new immigrants, are more likely to be uninsured than citizens. They are also less likely than citizens to use expensive emergency care, according to research from the Kaiser Family Foundation.

Claim: Many of the uninsured can afford private health care. About 9.1 million of the uninsured have household incomes greater than $75,000, and 10 percent (about 4.7 million)make more than 400 percent of the federal poverty threshold, according to KFF. In 2007, the most recent year of Census statistics, a family of four at 400 percent of the poverty level would have a household income of $84,812 or more.

So it’s true that many of the uninsured could, in theory, spare the $3,354 average annual employee contribution for employer-sponsored family coverage, or even the $5,799 average premium for individually purchased family coverage. But it’s also true that 66 percent of the uninsured make less than 200 percent of the poverty level according to KFF, which is less than $42,406 for a family of four in 2007. And a family’s premium costs may actually be much higher than the average for individually purchased insurance, depending on the number of dependents, the ages of family members, their state of health and the state in which they live. For instance, the average annual premium for individually purchased family coverage in Massachusetts, according to America’s Health Insurance Plans’ Center for Policy and Research, was $16,897 in 2006-2007 (before the state changed its insurance plan), and in New York it was $12,254.

Furthermore, even those who can afford coverage cannot always get it. AHIP found that 72 percent of 2006 applications for health insurance were eventually approved, while the rest were withdrawn, not processed, or denied for medical or non-medical reasons. And of those who got coverage, 11 percent had to pay a higher rate than requested.

Claim: Many of the uninsured are young people who think they’re invincible. The National Review Institute writes: "More than half of the uninsured are between 18 and 34 years of age, a group which has relatively few expensive health issues and for whom self-insuring (paying their own medical bills) makes sense." Actually, only about 40 percent of the uninsured are between 18 and 34, according to the Census.

Is this younger group uninsured by choice? KFF said young people lack insurance for avariety of reasons: "Many low-income young adults lack access to affordable private coverage since few are full-time students or full-time employees, few have jobs that offer employer coverage, and few have access to coverage through their parents."

Similarly, the Institute of Medicine reports that "adults who decline offers of [employer-sponsored insurance] … are more likely to be in poor health with high-cost medical conditions." So those who turn down available coverage don’t always do so because they’re in great health and don’t want to pay for it. Many find it to be unavailable, or can’t afford it at the price offered.

Claim: Many of the uninsured already are eligible for public coverage. That’s true – NIHCM found that in 2006, 12 million of the uninsured were eligible for Medicaid or the Children’s Health Insurance Program (formerly SCHIP) but were not enrolled. These were disproportionately children – 6.1 million of the 12 million are under the age of 18, versus only 20 percent of the uninsured as a whole. NIHCM posits a number of possible explanations: People may be unaware of the programs or not know how to enroll in them; they may experience administrative hurdles to enrolling or staying in the program; or they may fear the stigma of public assistance. Some states also periodically institute CHIP enrollment caps, which may keep eligible people out of public programs. Utah, Georgia and Florida all had caps in 2007.

Claim: The uninsured get billions of dollars worth of health care. Investor’s Business Daily writes: "The notion that the uninsured are without health care is bogus, as well. They consumed an estimated $116 billion worth of health care in 2008, according to the advocacy group Families USA." Families USA did say that, but the figure is for the total costs, including payments that the uninsured made personally. The figure also covers people who were uninsured for any part of the year, many of whom may have been covered by insurance for the remainder of the year.

Families USA found that the uninsured received $42.7 billion in care in 2008 that wasn’t paid for either out of pocket or by other private or public funds. A study by the Kaiser Family Foundation found a slightly higher amount of uncompensated care. KFF found that those who are uninsured for at least part of the year receive $84.3 billion in care during the time they are uninsured, $30 billion of which is paid for out of pocket, leaving $54.3 billion uncompensated.

The uninsured still receive much less medical care and consume fewer medical resources than the insured. KFF found that those who were insured year-round incurred much greater health expenses than the full-year or part-year uninsured – $4,463 per person, versus $1,686 for the full-year uninsured and $2,983 for the part-year uninsured, $2,601 of which was incurred while they had insurance.

In short, it’s true that many of the 45.7 million "uninsured" could find coverage through existing government programs or pay for their own coverage if they chose. Some, perhaps 6 million, are illegal immigrants who would not receive coverage under any proposal now being considered. Do these amount to half the total, as former Sen. Thompson implied? That’s possible, but we judge that the available evidence doesn’t support that conclusion.

The 8216 Real 8217 Uninsured