09/07/2005
It’s no surprise to small-business owners that the number of uninsured Americans has increased yet again. The number of uninsured now stands at nearly 46 million, according to a recent U.S. Census Bureau report, an increase of almost one million over the previous year. That number reflects one in seven Americans—and one in five workers.
According to the report, an estimated 15.7 percent of the U.S. population was without health insurance coverage throughout the entire year, unchanged from 2003.
The Census report found that 88.7 percent of non-Hispanic whites had health insurance last year, while only 67.3 percent of Hispanics were insured. Approximately 80 percent of all blacks were insured last year.
“These numbers show a greater need for Small-Business Health Plans (AHPs) than ever before,” says NFIB Executive Vice President Dan Danner. “The government attributes some of the increase to a drop in the percentage of people who received health insurance through their employers, which dropped from 60.4 percent to 59.8 percent last year. But fewer business owners can afford to provide health insurance due to rising costs.”
Small-Business Health Plans would allow small businesses to band together across state lines, through their membership in a bona fide trade association, to purchase more affordable health insurance. Strongly supported by President Bush, this legislation has passed the U.S. House eight times, including this year and in past congressional sessions. But the Senate has yet to act.
