Running head: HEALTH POLICY, POLITICS AND PERSPECTIVES 1 HEALTH POLICY, POLITICS AND PERSPECTIVES 4 Health Policy, Politics and Perspectives Student’s Name Institutional Affiliation Why Are So Many People Uninsured and Underinsured? The Obamacare (Affordable Care Act) introduced sweeping change to the health care system in the United States. The act expanded comprehensive health insurance coverage to millions of U.S citizens. It made it possible for anyone with health challenges to get coverage by banning insurers from charging more or denying coverage because of preexisting conditions. Despite these changes, the number of uninsured and underinsured people have increased. Clark and Carter (2019) explain that more than 30 million people remain uninsured as of today with the number of Americans underinsured also increasing by the day. Another 31 million adults remain underinsured (Davis, 2019). Coverage gains are stalling in most states and regions because of a number of contributors some of which are analyzed and explained in this paper. Firstly, deductibles are a growing contributor and cause of the number of uninsured and underinsured people across the United States (Davis, 2019). Deductibles have been a growing concern and contributor of insurance and underinsurance because a good number of insured Americans than even before have health insurance plans having deductibles. Equally, Clark and Carter (2019) explain that more people have deductibles that are high relative to their average annual incomes. The proportion of privately insured adults who have had previous insurance plans without deductibles have also reduced significantly. Deductibles have outpaced growth in the income of several families and therefore represent a greater proportion of this income. It is estimated that more than 15 percent of American adults who have insurance coverage throughout the year have deductibles that are high relative to their family income (McLean, DeLong & Moyer, 2020). The effects of deductibles and the trend on family income have increased the rates of underinsurance and insurance significantly. The challenge of high deductibles relative to family incomes have been reported to be widespread in Texas and Florida in comparison to the national average. Secondly, low income is cited McLean, DeLong and Moyer (2020) as being a great contributor of the high number of the uninsured and underinsured. Adults who have health problems are also at a greater risk of being underinsured. Whereas there has been an improvement in the proportion of low-income individuals who are underinsured, the number is still significantly high. Despite the reduction and the decline in the numbers that have been recorded over the last ten years, people with lower income are still underinsured and uninsured at rates twice higher than the people with higher average incomes. Adults with health problems also experience underinsurance at greater rates. People with health proble ...