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WASHINGTON, D.C. – Today, Congressman Marion Berry (AR-01) held a telephone press conference to discuss the increasing number of uninsured Arkansans outlined by a new Families USA report. The report details the alarming rate at which the number of uninsured Arkansans is growing as well as other important demographic information identifying groups with an increased risk of being uninsured.
"Health insurance is an important factor when individuals decide whether or not they should seek medical care," said Berry. "Without health insurance, too many people are not getting life-saving, preventative care. Skipping routine physicals and tests is more costly in the long run for our nation and most importantly, could have dire consequences for individuals.”
According to a report released today by the health consumer organization Families USA, approximately 836,000 Arkansans or 34 percent of residents under age 65—were uninsured at some point of time during 2007-2008. In fact, 624,000 of those uninsured Arkansans, 74.6 percent of the total, were uninsured for six months or more during that time.
The situation is reflective of a nationwide trend. Approximately 86.7 million Americans, or one out of three people (33.1 percent) under 65 years of age, were uninsured at some point during 2007-2008. The Families USA report is an essential supplement to commonly-used Census Bureau data, such as the 45.7 million people deemed to be uninsured for the entire 2007 calendar year.
"Unfortunately, the lack of health care coverage can be a matter of life and death but it is a risk an increasing number of Arkansans are willing to take," said Berry. "This problem is worse than an epidemic and it is imperative we make health care reform a top priority to immediately address this growing crisis."
The Families USA report reveals additional important demographic information about uninsured individuals in Arkansas:
- Well over three-quarters of Arkansas’s uninsured, or 78 percent, were in working families, working full- or part-time.
- More than half, or 52.1 percent, of those individuals and families in Arkansas with incomes below twice the poverty line ($42,400 of annual income for a family of four in 2008) went without health insurance at some point in 2007-2008.
- Almost a quarter, or 23.2 percent, of those individuals and families in Arkansas with incomes at or above twice the poverty line ($42,400 of annual income for a family of four in 2008) went without health insurance at some point in 2007-2008.
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