Middle class feels health insurance pain
Middle-class workers are shouldering the brunt of the health insurance crisis, according to a new report released Wednesday by the nonpartisan Robert Wood Johnson Foundation.
The report “Barely Hanging On: Middle-Class and Uninsured” chronicles state-by-state health coverage trends, comparing 2008 and 2000.
Nationally, it found:
• $12,298 — the cost of a family insurance policy, up 56 percent.
• $4,386 — the cost of a single insurance policy, up 43 percent.
• $3,394 — the average employee contribution for family coverage when covered by employer, up 81 percent.
• $51,233 — the median household income, down 2.5 percent.
• 12 percent of private-sector employees work in businesses that do NOT offer health insurance, up 1.6 percent.
• 22 percent of employees were ineligible to participate in a company’s insurance plan, up 0.6 percent. Ineligibility includes length of time with company, hours worked and status.
• 13 million — the number of uninsured in the middle-class, up 2.4 percent.
• 43 million — the number of uninsured, up 1.7 percent.
In Kansas:
• $11,662 — the cost of a family insurance policy, up 56 percent.
• $4,197 — the cost of a single insurance policy, up 42 percent.
• $2,954 — the average employee contribution for family coverage when covered by employer, up 47 percent.
• $49,119 — the median household income, down 1.4 percent.
• 16 percent of private-sector employees work in businesses that do NOT offer health insurance, up 5 percent.
• 23 percent of employees were ineligible to participate in company’s insurance plan, up 0.5 percent.
• 77,000 — the number of uninsured in middle class, up 2.4 percent.
• 319,000 — the number of uninsured, up 1.8 percent.
The report was released as part of “Cover the Uninsured Week,” which is this week, March 14-20. It considers middle-income as those earning between 200 and 399 percent of the federal poverty level. That’s between $44,000 and $85,000 for a family of four.
In Douglas County:
• 14,000 people do not have health insurance.
• 3 — safety net clinics that serve low-income, uninsured residents:
Douglas County Dental Clinic — 1,296 clients in 2009, up 42 percent since 2004.
Health Care Access — 1,431 clients, up 58 percent.
Heartland Medical Clinic — 1,102 clients, up 26 percent.