Healthcare and the Underinsured

During the 2008 presidential primary season, it was common to hear candidates attempting to outdo each other with plans to provide healthcare coverage to the estimated 49 million Americans without health insurance. Unfortunately, with health insurance comes huge costs. This explains why the number of underinsured U.S. adults--that is, people who have health coverage that does not adequately protect them from high medical expenses--has risen dramatically. Indeed, a Commonwealth Fund study finds that as of 2007, there were an estimated 25 million underinsured adults in the United States, up 60 percent from 2003. When this figure is combined with the number of uninsured, the true scope of our health care crisis is revealed. Guest: Cathy Schoen, co-author of the Commonwealth Fund Study, "How Many Are Underinsured? Trends Among U.S. Adults, 2003 and 2007."