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Washington, D.C. --- U.S. Rep. Frank Pallone Jr., who is spearheading the health reform effort in Congress, issued the following statement on Tuesday on the release of a report showing that nearly 2.4 million people in New Jersey went without health insurance at some time over the past two years:
"This report documents one of the frightening problems with the current health care system and underscores the need for national health care reform. A system that leaves this many people uninsured and vulnerable to the potentially-high costs of treatment if they get ill is a dangerous diagnosis for too many families.
"The current economic crisis makes this situation even more threatening as the loss of a job can result in the loss of insurance coverage. The expansion of the SCHIP program that I worked on with Governor Corzine, Senator Vitale and others added tens of thousands to the state's Familycare program, but that is no substitute for comprehensive health care reform that expands coverage for those without and ensures coverage for those who fear losing it.
"The report is more bad news about a bad situation that needs to be cured with reforms that make our health care system work for everyone. This is why I am getting the state's residents engaged in the reform process with the statewide effort 'Making Health Care Work For New Jersey.' With the best doctors, top-notch teaching hospitals, the home-grown pharmaceutical industry and biotech firms, New Jersey is the health care state. What we need now is the best health insurance system and that is our goal as we work on reforms."
Some of the findings by Families USA:
- Approximately 2.4 million New Jerseyans—32 percent of residents under age 65—were uninsured at some point in time during 2007-2008. In fact, 1.8 million of those uninsured New Jerseyans, 76.2 percent of the total, were uninsured for six months or more during that time.
- More than four out of five of New Jersey’s uninsured, or 81 percent, were in working families, working full- or part-time. More than three out of five, or 60.2 percent, of those individuals and families in New Jersey with incomes below twice the poverty level—$42,400 of annual income for a family of four in 2008—went without health insurance at some point in 2007-2008. In addition, almost one-quarter, or 23.6 percent, of those individuals and families in New Jersey with incomes at or above twice the poverty level—$42,400 of annual income for a family of four in 2008—went without health insurance at some point in 2007-2008.
- While whites accounted for the largest number of uninsured in New Jersey, Hispanics/Latinos and African Americans were much more likely to be uninsured than whites: 58.1 percent of Hispanics/Latinos and 39.1 percent of African Americans went without health insurance in 2007-2008, compared to 22.7 percent of whites.
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