Health Care BS

If ever a statistic deserved to be categorized as species of prevarication, it is the oft-repeated datum, “47 million uninsured.” This stat, recently revised down to 44.8 million by the U.S. Census Bureau, is cited by media outlets of the Left and Right with equal credulity. But, as the NCPA points out, it significantly overstates the number of chronically uninsured:

“The way the U.S. Census Bureau reports the number of uninsured is misleading at best and essentially meaningless at worst,” says Devon Herrick, senior fellow with the NCPA. … For instance, a recent Congressional Budget Office report places the actual numbers of full-year uninsured at between 21 million and 31 million.

But that’s not all that is wrong with it. As I point out here, many of the fabled “uninsured” actually have access to coverage, and all of them have access to care. Nonetheless, this notoriously over-cited and misleading statistic will appear in countless media outlets this weekend, and it will be accepted without question by virtually everyone who sees it.