There are people who will buy an employee sponsored health insurance, no matter what it costs. On the other side of spectrum, various people cannot afford to buy health insurance in spite of the critical medical conditions. The health insurance cost is not the only factor contributing to the decisions to buy the employee health insurance. Among others, people who work in small establishments, minorities, young adults, retirees and near elderly women forms the majority of a group that may remain uninsured.
The trend continues in the low wage community, self employed and part timers. The disparity between the Hispanics, Blacks and Whites is continuously increasing. Recent studies found out that the rate of uninsured Hispanics is increasing three times faster than the Blacks. Almost 39 percent of the Adult Hispanic workers are still uninsured even though they work with a company offering a healthcare plan. Experts agree that such an alarming decline in Hispanic population may be because of the recent influx of immigrants. It is not only the Hispanics but the Blacks, too. Black workers have also seen a major decline in the employee sponsored programs during the last decade.
Apart from the ethnic groups, young adults, who have started working on a part time or temporary basis, cannot afford to be covered on their own. Because of the temporary nature of the jobs, the employers are not willing to sponsor such a group nor are they covered under their parent’s healthcare policy. In 2003, almost 37 percent of the young adult aged between 19 and 24 remained un-insured. Other groups that are in need of the employee sponsored insurance are the elderly women.
In American workforce, there are around 2 million elderly women with health problems that are still not covered by an employee sponsored healthcare program. Such statistics reveal the grim condition of American healthcare system that is unable to provide sustenance to the private sector. If such trend continues, the healthcare system is likely to get worse and present major problems for a new generation.
