Insured Americans Pay a $1000 'hidden tax' to Pay for Uninsured

A new study says that Americans with health insurance pay $1,000 in a hidden tax to cover the health care of those who are uninsured.

"I don't think anybody has any idea about how much they are paying because of the need to cover the health care costs of the uninsured," said Ron Pollack, the group's executive director. "This is a hidden tax on all insurance premiums, whether it is paid by business for their work or by families when they purchase their own coverage."

As President Obama and Congress take up health care legislation this year, the so-called hidden tax is increasingly becoming a talking point as proof that the U.S. health care system needs to be fixed:

• Senate Finance Committee Chairman Max Baucus, D-Mont., in a May 11 statement announcing policy options for expanding health care coverage, said: "The cost of that care is paid by every American with insurance in the form of a hidden tax of more than $1,000 a year in increased premiums."

The United States pays the most money of any country on health care, but have a large number of people without health insurance. Those with health insurance have to pick up the costs of the uninsured as they lack preventative care and must go to emergency rooms or without much needed care. This inefficient system raises health care costs on everyone and is the reason we must have a universal health care system.