There is much discussion regarding 46 million uninsured Americans. Some of this is misconception. 10 million of the 46 million are not US citizens. 11 million are already eligible for insurance under Medicaid or SCHIP but have not signed up, or did not report to census workers that they are covered under those programs. 10 million earn enough to afford some type of insurance but choose not to. 5 million are childless adults, likely healthy young adults who choose to not buy coverage. Some of these categories overlap so it is difficult to know the exact number with precision, but the real number of uninsured citizens is probably around 10-15 million. We believe there are more efficient ways to provide insurance for this 3-5% segment of society than tearing up the system which currently serves a majority of Americans satisfactorily.
(Source: US Census data)
Ironically, the different expensive health plans being discussed would not even eliminate all uninsured! http://online.wsj.com/article/SB124801397829262869.html
