I came across a recent report by The Commonwealth Fund that talked about underinsurance. Underinsurance is when you have insurance but it covers very little with high co-pays and even higher deductibles. For those who have not heard of it, consider yourself very lucky because 25 million patients in our healthcare system have to deal with this problem each time they seek care. And sadly, this number is growing.
 
On average, if you’re underinsured you pay anywhere upwards of 10% of your income on out-of-pocket medical expenses – and that’s on top of paying a premium for your health insurance. The result of this is that those who are underinsured regularly go without needed care such as doctor visits, filling prescriptions, and following up on recommended tests or treatment.
 
A troubling finding of this report is that among families earning over $40,000 per year, rates of being underinsured have nearly tripled since 2003.
 
The topic of underinsurance isn’t getting as much attention as it should in the national healthcare debate, but it further highlights the problem that the healthcare system in this country needs to be fixed -- yesterday.
 
You can read the full article here.

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