Coverage

Coverage  /  The challenge

The challenge

Health insurance coverage is essential for access to necessary and appropriate health care and should be available to all Americans. Coverage should:

  • be affordable
  • include necessary, appropriate, and effective health care services
  • be continuous and portable
  • promote high-quality and cost-effective health care
  • be based on shared responsibilities between the public and private sectors and individuals.

46 million Americans, including 9 million children, are uninsured, and the problem is growing. As health care costs rise, fewer individuals and families have insurance, and fewer businesses can afford to offer insurance to their employees. Having a job, even a full-time job, doesn’t necessarily guarantee coverage. In fact, eight out of 10 uninsured Americans are in working families. Rising costs also strain the ability of the federal and state governments to fund vital public coverage programs, forcing governments to scale back coverage for those adults who are least likely to obtain affordable health care coverage through their jobs.

Lack of coverage often leads to unnecessary suffering, delayed diagnoses and premature death. Americans living without health care coverage are much less likely to obtain preventive care; get timely diagnoses for illnesses, including cancer; receive treatments for chronic illnesses such as diabetes and asthma; and take prescription medications as recommended by physicians.

Not only is achieving affordable and stable coverage for all critical to improving the health of Americans, but it is vitally important to the financial interests of American families and the nation’s economy. Medical debt is among the leading contributors to personal bankruptcy in the United States, affecting both the uninsured and the insured. Moreover, escalating health care costs put an ever-increasing strain on households, businesses, state and federal budgets.

Learn more about RWJF's coverage strategy.

Learn more about our strategy and the issues we are seeking to address in this area:

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