Private coverage?

Forums: Politics, Health Care, Health Insurance
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Private coverage = Private health insurance coverage? Has it reached to 201 million people? Almost every American has the coverage?

Context:
The number of people covered by government health insurance -- including Medicare for seniors, Medicaid for the poor and the Children's Health Insurance Program (CHIP) -- climbed to 87.4 million in 2008 from 83 million.

Private coverage, on the other hand, declined by 1 million, to 201 million. That continues a long-term trend driven by rising costs that have made private insurance unaffordable for many individuals and employers. Cherry-picking, the practice of insurers selling coverage to only the healthiest and excluding many of those with preexisting conditions, also has contributed to the erosion of private insurance.

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Type: Question • Score: 0 • Views: 1,122 • Replies: 8

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Can't believe this: You got a simple question and everyone dodged to reply it.

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@oristarA,

Well, private health insurance would be all that is not operated by the federal and state governments. That would include employer provided insurance, and unemployment is fairly high at the moment. Not all employers have health insurance benefits, but the decline in employment could account for most of the decline in the numbers of privately insured.

I seem to recall that some 46 million are without insurance at all, including both government and private insurance. As you've implied, the principle of adverse selection applies. Those who are nominally too healthy to need insurance as a group are unwilling to pay for it. Those who are at high risk often cannot pay for it, if the can get insurance at all.

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oristar, if you are interested in the topic, as opposed to trying to understand the grammar or the meaning of a particular zsentence, click on the "New Posts" button at the top of the page--there are a number of threads going now where healthcare in Amderica is being fiercely debated. There are indeed some 46 million uninsured people in the US, and the private healthcare system doesn't work equitably or too well.

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Thank you both for replying.
But my question remained not replyed. I have to ask again:
Private coverage = Private health insurance coverage? Has it reached to 201 million people? Almost every American has the coverage?

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@oristarA,

I don't know if those numbers are correct off the top of my head, but if your question is whether "private coverage" means private health insurance coverage in that context, yes it does.

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@oristarA,

oristarA wrote:

Can't believe this: You got a simple question and everyone dodged to reply it.

It's not that simple a question.

That is why there are several threads tagged with "politics" where posters are discussing the issue of who is covered by what kind of health care insurance in the U.S.

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@ehBeth,

Thanks.
So whether 201 million is reliable is a biggest question...

Also thanks to Rebert.

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@oristarA,

If you trusted the statistics, please let me know.

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Private coverage?

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