Health Insurance Individual health insurance purchases tied to income levels Written by Penny Gusner Penny Gusner Penny is an expert on insurance procedures, rates, policies and claims. She has extensive knowledge of all major insurance lines -- auto, homeowners, life and health insurance. She has been answering consumers’ questions as an analyst for more than 15 years and has been featured in numerous major media outlets, including the Washington Post and Kiplinger’s. Reviewed by Michelle Megna Michelle Megna Michelle, the former editorial director, insurance, at QuinStreet, is a writer, editor and expert on car insurance and personal finance. Prior to joining QuinStreet, she reported and edited articles on technology, lifestyle, education and government for magazines, websites and major newspapers, including the New York Daily News. Posted on: December 7, 2009 Why you can trust Insure.com Quality Verified At Insure.com, we are committed to providing the timely, accurate and expert information consumers need to make smart insurance decisions. All our content is written and reviewed by industry professionals and insurance experts. Our team carefully vets our rate data to ensure we only provide reliable and up-to-date insurance pricing. We follow the highest editorial standards. Our content is based solely on objective research and data gathering. We maintain strict editorial independence to ensure unbiased coverage of the insurance industry. Policy makers are under increasing pressure to find ways to cover the uninsured. Many proposals encourage more people to buy individual health policies on their own. When consumers don’t have access to group health plans at work, individual coverage becomes the next option. There are a lot of folks financially trapped between group health and assistance programs such as Medicaid: They don’t have health insurance through work and they don’t qualify for Medicaid, but they can’t afford individual health policies. Currently, the purchase of individual health insurance rises and drops with income, according to a February 2008 study by the Kaiser Family Foundation (KFF), which used data from 2000 to 2003. As income increases, so does individual health coverage. Further: Very few people at lower incomes purchase individual coverage: One in 20 purchase plans among those with incomes at the federal poverty level ($18,660 for a family of four in 2003 dollars). Among those with incomes between 50 and 250 percent of the poverty level, only 4 to 11 percent purchase coverage. At four times the poverty level, about a quarter of individuals purchase coverage. And among those with incomes at least 10 times the poverty level, only about half purchase coverage. Coverage rises as income goes up among the self-employed, too, although they still purchase individual health plans at greater rates, perhaps in part due to the income tax premium deduction they can take: Ten to 16 percent of the self-employed purchase coverage between 50 and 250 percent of the poverty line. About 30 percent of the self-employed purchase coverage when their income reached 200 to 400 percent of the poverty level. Above 450 percent of the poverty level, close to half purchase insurance. Overall, at higher incomes, families with children purchased insurance more than single adults. KFF speculates that those with lower incomes simply can’t find coverage that’s affordable, or that it’s not an attractive product. KFF points out that policy makers will need to provide substantial subsidies, and extend subsidies to higher income levels, in order to successfully encourage the purchase of individual health plans. Related Articles Tips for buying individual coverage What is uninsured and underinsured motorist coverage? Penny GusnerContributor  . .Penny is an expert on insurance procedures, rates, policies and claims. She has extensive knowledge of all major insurance lines -- auto, homeowners, life and health insurance. She has been answering consumers’ questions as an analyst for more than 15 years and has been featured in numerous major media outlets, including the Washington Post and Kiplinger’s. Related Articles How much does COBRA insurance cost? By Les Masterson A complete guide to short-term health insurance By Shivani Gite Guide to domestic partner health insurance By Chris Kissell How insurance works for same-sex couples By Susan Manning How to get your health insurer to pay for your weight-loss or bariatric surgery By Susan Manning Should you decline the health insurance plan at work? By Erik Martin ZIP Code Please enter valid ZIP See rates