Most uninsured people are not uninsured by choice. They simply cannot afford health insurance or they cannot find an insurer who is willing to sell them an insurance policy. Individual health insurance policies are underwritten by insurance companies to identify risk factors and to increase premiums for these risk factors. People with major health conditions can even be considered uninsurable by some insurers.
Ironically, if a person incurs high medical bills due to being uninsured and becomes poor from paying these bills, a person might become eligible for Medicaid coverage. Medicaid is a federal health insurance program that is given to people with a low income and is also given to some people with high ongoing medical expenses. Some people with high medical debt are not eligible for Medicaid, and they have no choice but to wait for their creditors to take them to court or file bankruptcy.
Many health policy organizations, nonprofit groups, and government organizations are studying ways to provide health insurance for the uninsured. Health care reform can reduce the number of people without health insurance, but in order to be effective the reforms may need to require everyone to carry health insurance.
