Insuring the Uninsured: Will the 2004 Election Provide an Answer?

AJune 2004 report revealed startling new statistics onuninsured Americans (1). A total of 82 million Amer-icans—1 of 3 people younger than 65 years of age—were uninsured at some point during 2002–2003 (1). Con-ducted by the well-regarded Lewin Group, the study found that two thirds of the 82 million were uninsured for 6 months or more, with half lacking coverage for at least 9 months. These figures, based on U.S. Census Bureau Cur-rent Population Survey data, are far higher than the com-monly cited number of 43.6 million uninsured for the entire calendar year 2002 (2). Despite these findings, proposals to expand health in-surance rarely grace headlines about the 2004 presidential election, crowded out by concerns over jobs and Iraq. Even in the health care penumbra, other issues command more attention. Controversy swirls around the 2003 Medicar