The Census Bureau is set to release updated numbers of uninsured Americans on Tuesday, so we'd like to point out to you some of the papers and issue briefs we at New America have done on the uninsured, including our fact sheet, "Who are the Uninsured?" We'll be updating them soon with the new statistics, but the basic analysis should remain unchanged. The full texts of these and other papers are on our web site, but here's a sampling:

Employer Health Costs In a Global Economy: A Competitive Disadvantage For U.S. Firms

Although most Americans get health insurance through their employers, business leaders are increasingly united in their belief that rising health care costs threaten America's competitiveness in the global economy. Business support for comprehensive health reform has been growing as a result.

However, economists generally believe that it is workers —rather than employers—who pay for health care through lower wages. Although this proposition may hold true in the long run, employers face a variety of constraints that may make it difficult for them to fully shift health costs in the short run.

As a percentage of payroll, the employer cost of health benefits has exploded over the past few decades. In addition, employer health costs for manufacturing firms in the United States—$2.38 per worker per hour—were much higher than the foreign trade-weighted average of $0.96 per worker per hour in 2005. Employer health costs make the United States less competitive.

Cost of Failure: The Economic Losses of the Uninsured

In 2000, the Institute of Medicine (IOM) estimated that the "annualized economic cost of the diminished health and shorter lifespan of Americans who lack health insurance is between $65 and $130 billion for each year of health insurance forgone."

After updating the IOM's numbers to reflect growth in the economy and increases in the number of uninsured, we estimate that the poor health and shorter lifespan of the uninsured cost the U.S. economy between $102 billion and $204 billion in 2006. This estimate does not include spillover costs. For example, when medical bills go unpaid, providers attempt to recoup lost revenues by raising the rates for their services. In response, insurers raise premiums. This vicious cycle of "cost shifting" inextricably links the uninsured to rising health care costs and premium rates for the insured.

The economic cost imposed on the nation by the uninsured is as much as and perhaps greater than the public cost of covering them.

Who Receives Uncompensated Care?

Two distinct groups of people account for the majority of uncompensated care costs—those living at or below the poverty line and middle- and high-income individuals who may be able to afford health coverage.

Uncompensated care is health care that is delivered, but not paid for by either a patient or a third-party payer. Most UC is delivered to the very ill during or after a visit to an emergency room. In 2004, it totaled an estimated $41 billion.

This issue brief finds that individuals with incomes above 200% of the Federal Poverty Level (FPL) or $41,300 for a family of four and people living at or below the poverty level account for two-thirds of all UC in the U.S.

Why Does Health Insurance Matter?

Lack of health insurance negatively affects the overall productivity of society, the stability of emergency care, and the health and financial well-being of individuals.

Whether you are a Democrat or Republican, do you ever wonder: why all the fuss about health coverage? Campaign rhetoric aside—why does health insurance really matter? This short policy brief outlines the societal, economic, and health-related consequences of the uninsured.