title: Who are the underinsured?
abstract: Inadequate insurance, whether private or public, can impose ruinous private hardship and unexpected public burdens. "Who are the underinsured?" is both a definitional and an empirical question. Data from the National Medical Care Expenditure Survey, applied under various concepts of risk and expense, reveal that over a quarter of the nonelderly population is inadequately protected against the possibility of large medical bills. The private burdens of the underinsured are widely distributed across the population.
mesh_terms: D000206:Actuarial Analysis; D000293:Adolescent; D000328:Adult; D000367:Age Factors; D003625:Data Collection; D003669:Deductibles and Coinsurance / Q000191:economics; D004651:Employment; D005260:Female; D005382:Financing, Personal; D005102:Health Expenditures; D006291:Health Policy; D006801:Humans; D007182:Income; D007348:Insurance, Health; D007354:Insurance, Major Medical; D008297:Male; D008484:Medicaid; D008875:Middle Aged; D012306:Risk; D012737:Sex Factors; D014481:United States