Friday, June 05, 2009

Chart of the Day

On Tuesday, President Obama's Council of Economic Advisers released a report on healthcare, containing this:




source: CEA Health Care Report at 7

I haven't had a chance to match this with population-by-age data from the Census Bureau, but this chart confirms that age groups most likely to be healthy are most likely to be uninsured. Which is consistent with previous observations:
The figures unsurprisingly reflect the tax code's tie between health insurance and employment--young adults acquire insurance with entry-level jobs. But it also suggests deliberate choice. Young adults are statistically healthier than other age brackets, suggesting that some may deliberately choose not to be covered. This may not be a bad bet at that age, and there's no compelling reason for the government to override an individual's decision to "gamble."
Though "choice" is a lefty soundbite, don't expect this option to survive.

3 comments:

Thai said...

Carl, thanks!

I have been looking for this graph for years without success.

@nooil4pacifists said...

I've previously re-printed similar Census data from 1999.

OBloodyHell said...

> there's no compelling reason for the government to override an individual's decision to "gamble."

Sure there is. The left has a compelling need to control others. This includes any decisions those others may make at all.