New Report Findings on Middle Class Health Insurance

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Universal health care might be something even the staunchest Republicans start to consider after this news:

According to a report released this week by The Commonwealth Fund, 25 million Americans were underinsured in 2007—a 60 percent jump since 2003.

And it’s the middle class who’s feeling the pain, again.

What does being underinsured get you?

(And it could be you: The rate of underinsured people among those who make $40,000 to $59,000 hit double digits in 2007.) Benefit limits, higher deductibles, and higher premiums, apparently.

Forget preventative care. Fifty-three percent of the underinsured had to forgo needed medical attention. That means skipping prescriptions, avoiding doctor visits when sick, and passing on further tests.

And you thought food and gas prices were the only problem.

—Brittney Andres

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DONALD TRUMP & DEMOCRACY

Mother Jones was founded to do things differently in the aftermath of a political crisis: Watergate. We stand for justice and democracy. We reject false equivalence. We go after, and go deep on, stories others don’t. And we’re a nonprofit newsroom because we knew corporations and billionaires would never fund the journalism we do. Our reporting makes a difference in policies and people’s lives changed.

And we need your support like never before to vigorously fight back against the existential threats American democracy and journalism face. We’re running behind our online fundraising targets and urgently need all hands on deck right now. We can’t afford to come up short—we have no cushion; we leave it all on the field.

Please help with a donation today if you can—even just a few bucks helps. Not ready to donate but interested in our work? Sign up for our Daily newsletter to stay well-informed—and see what makes our people-powered, not profit-driven, journalism special.

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