Uninsured

Powerline posts a now-common break down of the "46 million uninsured" number. They mention people eligible but not yet signed up for government insurance, the young and healthy, the relatively well off, and the non-citizen, but they still miss something.

This is the final number that they give for the uninsured:

This leaves about 15.5 million (one-third of Obama's 46 million) who actually are uninsured, cannot become insured simply by enrolling in a free program, are U.S. citizens, and cannot easily afford to purchase insurance. About 5 million members of this cohort are childless adults.

The remaining problem is this: if you make a list of the names of each of those 15.5 million and look back in on them in 3, or 6, or 12 months, how many of them would still be uninsured? And how many of them were only uninsured briefly as they were looking for work or between jobs? The 47 million number, just like the number of people living in poverty, gives the illusion of a static cohort, when in fact people move in and out of insurance and in and out of poverty all of the time. Being without insurance for a couple of months is a very different thing from being a long-termed, unwilling uninsured person, or person who can't get health insurance because of pre-existing conditions.

Interestingly, over on Hot Air, the Captain posted an excerpt from the proposed bill (Here's a link to the text from Thomas.gov -- the Congress's own computers):

(a) Tax Imposed- In the case of any individual who does not meet the requirements of subsection (d) at any time during the taxable year, there is hereby imposed a tax equal to 2.5 percent of the excess of–
‘(1) the taxpayer’s modified adjusted gross income for the taxable year, over

That should be a pretty nasty provision. Go without health insurance for one day--while changing jobs, of if you employer screws up and accidentally doesn't pay premiums on time, or if you're short of cash for a couple of months and fall behind on your premiums, you're socked with a tax of 2.5% on your gross income.