Statement Regarding Release of Census Estimates of Number of Uninsured Americans

Princeton, N.J. – The federal government announced today that the number of Americans living without health insurance has risen once again. For 47 million Americans, being uninsured means not having access to needed health care.

Everywhere you turn, in communities, at statehouses and in Congress, discussions are taking place about how to fix the troubled state of our fractured health care system. When millions of hard-working men and women do not have health insurance themselves, and cannot cover their children, it raises serious clinical, economic and moral concerns about how we as a nation will meet the needs of our people.

Over the next few weeks, Congress and the White House will continue to debate the future of the State Children's Health Insurance Program (SCHIP), which has helped to produce the rare bit of good news on the health care front. Since SCHIP began 10 years ago, the overall number of uninsured children has decreased, while the number of uninsured adults has continued to rise.

Our country needs bipartisan cooperation to ensure the future of SCHIP. We need to safeguard the program and strengthen it so that more children who are already eligible for SCHIP can get covered. The alternative is to divide our children further into those who get a fair chance at a healthy life, and those who don't.

Risa Lavizzo-Mourey, M.D., M.B.A.
President and CEO
Robert Wood Johnson Foundation

The Robert Wood Johnson Foundation focuses on the pressing health and health care issues facing our country. The Foundation is the sponsor of Cover the Uninsured, the largest mobilization in history to create awareness of the need for action on the issue of the uninsured. As the nation's largest philanthropy devoted exclusively to improving the health and health care of all Americans, the Foundation works with a diverse group of organizations and individuals to identify solutions and achieve comprehensive, meaningful and timely change. For more than 30 years the Foundation has brought experience, commitment, and a rigorous, balanced approach to the problems that affect the health and health care of those it serves. When it comes to helping Americans lead healthier lives and get the care they need, the Foundation expects to make a difference in your lifetime. For more information, visit www.rwjf.org.