Health Insurance Crisis is Hitting Kansans Age 50-64 Hard

AARP has made guaranteeing access to affordable health coverage for people aged 50-64 an essential element of health reform. Why? Americans aged 50-64—who make up nearly half of AARP’s 40 million members—are taking a hard hit in these times of shrinking employer-sponsored health coverage. They have become the fastest growing group of uninsured. The rate at which they have been losing coverage is really alarming—36 percent between 2000 and 2009.

In Kansas, 70,947 or 14 percent of the population aged 50-64 are uninsured. Of those 50-64 year olds who work, more than 83 percent don’t have health insurance.

AARP Kansas State Director Maren Turner is alarmed by the number of working adults without insurance. She said Kansas is second only to Alaska in the number of 50-64 year olds who work but are not insured. But there is a reason.

“According to statistics from the Kansas Department of Labor only half of Kansas employers with a staff of 4 or less offer health insurance,” said AARP Kansas State Director Maren Turner. “Clearly, because of the large amount of small businesses in Kansas, there is a higher uninsured population.”

And, now, in today’s turbulent economy, as more working men and women in this age group are losing jobs with employer-sponsored health care, they are finding it more and more difficult—if not impossible—to get affordable individual coverage. This is—in large part—because health insurers consider age and pre-existing conditions when setting their rates. Seven of every ten Americans in this age group have at least one—if not several—such chronic health conditions as diabetes and heart disease.

Insurance industry data show that insurers reject between 17 and 28 percent of all applications from people aged 50-64. And those “lucky” enough to find individual coverage must pay, on average, premiums that average three times higher than premiums for those of the same age who have employer coverage. And their out-of-pocket spending for health care is more than twice that of those with employer coverage—despite less generous benefits.

This problem is becoming more serious because, thanks to the aging of the baby boomers, our 50-64 population is growing rapidly. Nearly one of every five Americans will be 50-64 by 2015. So, AARP is pressing Congress to find a common-sense solution to the coverage gap for 50-64-year-olds. For information on AARP’s efforts to help people in this age group—and on ways you can help—please check out our new web page for health reform—www.healthactionnow.org.

Other Resources

Health Care Reform: What’s at Stake for 50- to 64-Year-Olds? (Research Report)