According to a U.S. Census Bureau report approximately 43.6 million Americans are without health insurance. The number of uninsured has risen as more workers lose their jobs. However, even workers who have managed to keep their jobs are losing health insurance benefits at an increasing rate. There is already a national trend of workers bearing more of the cost of health care as employers look for ways to reduce costs. This troubling data has led many to call for increased protection for the uninsured, such as the expansion of Medicare benefits.
See "43.6 million in U.S. are uninsured", Bruce Japsen, Chicago Tribune, September 29, 2003