Do the poor have any responsibility ?

The Demographics of the Uninsured

The 45.8 million uninsured are more likely to be poor and low income than higher income. Figure 2 shows that over half of the uninsured are below 200% of poverty, with 25% below the poverty line and 28% between 100% and 199% of poverty.(3) That the uninsured are concentrated among lower-income individuals is not surprising, given that low-income individuals are less likely to:
• be working, and if they do work they are less likely to be working full time,
• receive an offer of insurance, and
• be able to afford an offer of coverage.

Not all low-income individuals are eligible for Medicaid. Medicaid eligibility is based on a combination of income and population “category.” The population groups that qualify for Medicaid are generally children, parents of dependent children, pregnant women, the disabled, and the elderly. The income levels at which these groups qualify differs from state to state, and group to group, with coverage of children and pregnant women being available at higher income levels, followed by the disabled and elderly, then parents of dependent children last (though this varies by state). Childless adults who are not disabled or elderly rarely qualify for Medicaid, even at the very lowest income levels.

The Uninsured by Race/Ethnicity

The uninsured are more likely to be white than other races or ethnicities, comprising about half of the uninsured population (48%).(6) However, the uninsured are disproportionately Hispanic to a significant degree. Hispanics represent 14% of U.S. residents but comprise 30% of the uninsured. The higher uninsured rate for Hispanics is not associated with higher poverty levels than other groups — the poverty rate for Hispanics is slightly lower than for African-Americans, 22.2% vs. 24.9% respectively. Rather, research has shown that Hispanics are more likely to be employed in jobs that do not offer health insurance, such as construction and agriculture (but when offered health insurance they accept at the same rates at whites and blacks).(7)

The Uninsured by Work Status

The vast majority of the uninsured are working individuals or the children of those who work.(8) In 2004, almost half of the uninsured (46%) worked full time, and another 28% worked part time or for part of the year. Many of the uninsured worked for firms that did not offer coverage, or if their employers offered coverage, they either were not eligible or did not accept the offer. Based on data from the 2001 February Supplement to the CPS matched with the 2001 March Supplement to the CPS, 18 million workers were not offered coverage and another 6 million were not eligible for coverage that their firm offered, representing 54% of the uninsured.(9) In addition, there are 6.9 million workers and dependents that have declined employer coverage and remain uninsured (19% of the uninsured).(10) These individuals are most likely to decline employer coverage because it was too costly: 3.8 million, or 52% said coverage was too expensive. The February-March match file shows another 2.9 million dependents who live with a family member covered by employer sponsored insurance. While there are no follow-up questions on the February CPS to determine why dependents are uninsured, one can surmise that many of those dependents could have been insured under the covered worker's employer plan but the worker found it unaffordable to purchase family coverage.(11)

Part-time workers comprise a disproportionately large percentage of the uninsured because employers often do not offer coverage to part-time workers and because part-time income may make offered insurance less affordable. The median family income of part-time workers is about $13,000 less than the median family income of full-time workers, $63,500 vs. $50,300.


http://aspe.hhs.gov/health/reports/05/uninsured-cps/index.htm


Next excuse for not helping the poor?

 

How could anyone here know how many poor people have cable, or big screen television sets, etc?

 

Well I do know WHAT you mean. I see people (ambled body people) sitting out walking the streets when I'm on my bus route. And I've had a friend who's daughter used her over and over as well as the Government. I don't know how to STOP it (Or I could run for office) But a good Book is "Boundaries" it speaks of Natural Consequences. If the government gave them a limit and stopped paying that might stop a part of them. But then you'd probably have a higher crime rate because the ones who still didn't have a job would make there money though illegal ways.

 

I was a social worker for many years in Camden County, NJ and, later, Philadelphia.

Many times, the "poor" I was supposed to be helping drove nicer cars than I did.

I walked in to many houses where they had every kind of the latest electronic gadgets, but would then turn around and complain to me because their welfare check was late.