Uninsured Get Less Health Care Than Insured

HealthDay, August, 2008 by Krisha McCoy

Uninsured Americans will spend $30 billion out of pocket for health care, and receive $56 billion in uncompensated care in 2008, new research shows.

Uncompensated care is defined as health care that is received but not paid for by the uninsured or a health insurer.

In a report appearing in Monday's online edition of Health Affairs , Jack Hadley, of George Mason University, and John Holahan, Teresa Coughlin and Dawn Miller, of the Urban Institute, analyzed data on medical spending in people who are insured versus those who are uninsured.

They found that people uninsured for any part of 2008 receive about half as much care as those who are fully insured. A person who is uninsured all year will average $1,686 in medical costs, while someone who is privately insured...