Health Insurance Hike Discourages Buyers, Uninsured

02/17/2010

A double-digit rate hike at one insurance company may upset its buyers - as well as the 46 million Americans without health insurance, according to a recent report by the Associated Press.

Many of these uninsured individuals do not get coverage from an employer or family member, leaving policies like the one that experienced a 39 percent premium increase as their only option. Secretary of Health and Human Services Kathleen Sebelius spoke out against such rate hikes last week.

"As we continue the health insurance reform debate in Washington, this announcement reminds us that too many Americans can be left with unaffordable insurance each time the rates or rules change in the private market," Sebelius was quoted as saying.

The premium increase was caused by a shifting demographic among the insurance company's customers, according to the report. As healthier buyers dropped expensive plans, more financial pressure was put on a pool of less healthy customers. These higher rates could discourage uninsured Americans from purchasing an individual plan.

About 5 percent of the population purchased individual health insurance policies in 2007, according to the Census data. The number of people without health insurance decreased from 15.8 to 15.3 percent that year.

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