Covering the uninsured: Working from common ground

The continuing problem of uninsured Americans was thrust into the national spotlight as influential groups, including the AMA, came together to lay out a plan to insure more people.

Editorial. Feb. 19, 2007.

Will 2007 finally be the year that America gets serious about its uninsured problem? The pressure to do something to cover those without insurance certainly has been building.

In 2001, 41.2 million Americans lacked health insurance. In 2003, the number jumped to 45 million. In 2005, the latest statistic available, 46.6 million were uninsured.

It is too late to change the yet-to-be calculated 2006 total, a figure that likely will continue the upward trend seen this decade. But there are positive signs that 2007 could be a turning point.

Before the first month of the year concluded, a group of 16 influential, national organizations -- including the American Medical Association -- banded together and put forward a plan to help reduce the number of uninsured.

It is particularly encouraging to see groups that don't often come together set aside their separate agendas to forge a consensus on a two-phased plan to fix the problem. To name a few of the groups comprising the Health Coverage Coalition for the Uninsured: Families USA, America's Health Insurance Plan, Catholic Health Assn., Johnson & Johnson and the U.S. Chamber of Commerce.

The first phase of the plan calls for allowing parents to enroll children more easily in public programs such as the State Children's Health Insurance Program and Medicaid. For example, parents could enroll children in a health insurance program at the same time they enroll for other programs, such as food stamps. Coalition leaders believe it could allow an additional 6 million uninsured children who are eligible for, but not enrolled in, public insurance programs to get coverage.