The Census Bureau reported 45.6 million uninsured people in 2007, but the numbers include nearly 10 million non-citizens and millions who may choose not to have insurance, and millions more who should be able to afford insurance without government assistance.
The Business & Media Institute broke down the uninsured statistics in 2007 and found details from the Census Bureau commonly ignored by the news media:
- 10 million uninsured non-citizens
- More than 17 million of the uninsured make at least $50,000 per year
- 8.4 million made $50,000 to $74,999 per year and 9.1 million made $75,000 or more.
Another segment of the uninsured, 25 percent, according to the liberal Urban Institute already qualifies for government health insurance programs. Other groups have also found that many of the uninsured are temporarily without coverage due to job changes.
Even the liberal Kaiser Family Foundation puts the number of chronically uninsured between 8.2 and 13.9 million people.
