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Radiocast: Study Finds Fewer Families Can Afford
Health Insurance
Debra: This is Healthcare 411: Information for better health. Most people
buy health insurance from their employers. However, 30 million families don’t
have access to health insurance through work, and most of them remain uninsured.
AHRQ economist Dr. Didem Bernard examines why these people don’t buy insurance:
Dr. Bernard: In this study, we examined uninsured families’ wealth,
meaning their savings and other assets minus their debt. We found that the
median wealth among families who buy insurance is 35 times greater than the
wealth of families who are uninsured. So in fact, the affordability issue is
worse than we expected.
Debra: For more AHRQ information on health care plans, go online to
ahrq.gov/consumer.
Healthcare 411 is produced by AHRQ, the Agency for Healthcare Research and
Quality, part of the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services. I’m Debra
James for Healthcare 411.
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