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Are There Really 47 Million Americans Who Can’t Afford Health Insurance?
...The 47 million uninsured number is generated by an annual U.S. Census Bureau report. However, that report also states that the 47 million uninsured includes roughly 10 million illegal aliens without health insurance. Thus, if we subtract out the illegals, the number of uninsured American citizens without health insurance declines by more than 20 percent . . . to roughly 37 million.

But is it accurate to assume that even 37 million Americans cannot afford health insurance? Absolutely NOT. Even Hillary Clinton during her presidential campaign once admitted that 25% of the uninsured could afford health insurance but chose not to purchase it. The Census Bureau reports that there are roughly 17 million people who make more than $50,000 per year and who, for whatever reason, decide not to carry health insurance.

In short, with two reasonable adjustments, the number of Americans who cannot afford health insurance has been reduced from 47 million to approximately 20 million.

But is the 20 million figure itself reasonably accurate? Probably not. Individuals moving between jobs lose their employer-provided health insurance, and when they do the Census Bureau counts them as “uninsured.” Technically true. Yet during normal economic times, roughly half of these individuals will re-acquire health insurance coverage with a new employer in about four months.

Finally, there are millions of adult Americans and children who have nearly free access to medical care benefits through Medicaid and other government programs who don’t really need the direct cost of health insurance and who don’t carry any.

Thus, with reasonable adjustments, there are in fact less than 10 million individuals who are so-called “chronically uninsured.”...