The State of the U.S. Health Care System: A Look At The Numbers

Number of uninsured Americans in 2004

45.8 million

Increase in the number of uninsured Americans between 2000 and 2004

6 million

Number of uninsured Americans in 2004 is equivalent to the population of how many states

24 states plus the District of Columbia

Number of Americans who were uninsured for all or part of 2002 and 2003

81.8 million

Percentage of Americans with moderate incomes ($20,000 to $40,000) who were uninsured for all or part of 2005

41

Amount extra paid in health insurance premiums by American families in 2005 in order to cover uncompensated care for the uninsured

$922

Average premium for family health insurance in 2005

$10,880

Percentage increase in premiums for family health insurance since 2000

71

How much faster premiums increased in 2005 compared to workers’ earnings

3.4 times higher

Percentage of uninsured Americans living in working families

81

Percentage of employers offering health coverage to their employees in 2000

69

Percentage of employers offering health coverage to their employees in 2005

60

Number of Americans who die prematurely each year because they lack health insurance

18,000

Number of Americans who are underinsured (i.e., they do not have insurance that will adequately protect them from catastrophic health expenses)

16 million

Percentage of uninsured Americans who report problems accessing health care because of the cost

59

Percentage of personal bankruptcies involving major medical expenses

46

Percentage of Americans who agree with the statement: “With costs rising out of control and the quality of health coverage declining, the health care system in our country is broken, and we need to make fundamental changes”

89

Percentage of Americans who support “reforming our current health care system to provide affordable health care for all Americans”

86

Number of Americans who will pay more for Medicaid in 2015 because of the passage of Republican budget reconciliation legislation (S. 1932)

13 million (higher copayments);

1.3 million (new premiums)

Number of people who will have their Medicaid benefits reduced by 2015 because of the passage of Republican budget reconciliation legislation (S. 1932)

1.6 million

Percentage of large employers providing retiree health coverage in 1988

66

Percentage of large employers providing retiree health coverage in 2005

33

Per capita health spending in the United States in 2003

$5,635

Median per capita health spending in the 30 developed countries in the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD) in 2003

$2,280

United States ranking in infant mortality among 37 countries

28

United States ranking in life expectancy among 37 countries

26 (male);

25 (female)

Number of people in the U.S. diagnosed with diabetes in 2004

14.7 million

Percentage increase in the number of people in the U.S. diagnosed with diabetes since 1994

77

Number of states with obesity prevalence rates at or above 20% in 1991

0

Number of states with obesity prevalence rates at or above 20% in 2004

42

Amount of time the Senate has been waiting to vote on the House-passed embryonic stem cell bill

1 year and

14 days

Last time before Fiscal Year 2006 that funding for medical research through the National Institutes of Health was cut

1970

Amount of time that has passed since bipartisan full mental health parity legislation was introduced in the Senate

5 years,

2 months, and

23 days

Amount of time that has passed since President Bush expressed support for mental health parity legislation

4 years,

1 month, and

9 days

Number of deaths in hospitals each year caused by preventable medical errors

44,000 to 98,000

Percentage of Americans who receive the recommended care for a medical condition

55