The Myth Of The 46 Million

by Philip Klein - March 20th, 2009 - American Spectator

Whether it's in political speeches, commentary, newspaper features, or hard news stories, the statistic of 46 million uninsured is one of the most-widely cited numbers in the health care debate. It promotes the idea that nearly one out of every six Americans does not have access to health care and it plays into the arguments of those calling for massive expansion of government to fix the problem. Yet the ubiquitous figure is highly misleading.

A few breakdowns of note in this hypothetical huge number of 46 million:
9 million make more than $75,000 per year and could easily choose to have health care but have made a conscious decision not to.
10 million are not Americans, they are illegal aliens.
14 million are eligible for EXISTING FREE government insurance programs but have not had a single medical problem worth going to the hospital for and have thus not bothered to register.
18 million are under 34, extremely healthy, and have chosen not to pay for health care which they never need.

There is a real number of people with medical problems who make too much to get government assistance but not enough to pay for health insurance. That number? A little under 9 million. These are the only people that we should allow government programs to address. Someone making $75,000 a year does not deserve government assistance to get insurance, or need some socialist politician saying that they should be forced to do so.

There are many problems with health care but those who start the debate with a LIE are not going to fix the problems when they have to cover up their LIES with solutions that appear to fix them.