The Issue

The Situation

Forty-six million Americans are uninsured. More than 9 million of them are children. More than eight out of 10 are in working families. They are our friends, neighbors and colleagues--forced to gamble every day that they won't get sick or injured.

Living without health insurance is a risk no one should have to take.

The Response

Cover the Uninsured, a project of the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation, is a national effort to highlight the fact that too many Americans are living without health insurance and demand solutions from our nation's leaders.

We know that reaching the goal of affordable and stable health care will require changes in public policy. Through Cover the Uninsured, we are working to build and sustain broad-based support for change.

This includes raising awareness and building support among policy-makers, health care professionals, grassroots advocates, faith leaders, the business community and active citizens through Cover the Uninsured Week and reaching out to enroll eligible uninsured families in public health coverage programs during the annual Back-to-School Campaign.

And our work is making a difference.

Thanks in large part to thousands of individuals and organizations working in their communities, concern about access to affordable health coverage is high among American voters. Broad-based coalitions from across the country and our nation's governors have joined together in the fight. In February 2009, President Obama and Congress reauthorized the Children’s Health Insurance Program (CHIP) to cover more than 4 million more children.

The time for change is now.

2009 is the year to build upon this momentum to increase awareness about the issue, amplify diverse voices on behalf of the uninsured, and demand solutions from our nation's leaders.

To learn how you can help raise awareness about the uninsured, please visit How To Help.

Hear the Stories

The Cover the Uninsured Campaign is committed to illuminating the stories of those Americans who experience the negative consequences of being uninsured and the stories of the dedicated health care providers who work with the uninsured.

Mark Jacobs

McMinnville, Tennessee

Mark and his family own a small lumber company that has operated in the community since 1873. When the family acquired the company, they kept the previous benefits and continued to pay two-thirds of all employee and family medical coverage costs. Mark worked alongside his employees for years and makes sure they have the health care coverage they need to stay healthy.
Nancy Gerber

Spokane, Washington

Three years ago, Nancy was diagnosed and treated for stage-four uterine cancer. At the time, Nancy was covered under Washington State's Basic Health plan. Although she had coverage at the time of her surgery and chemotherapy, she has since lost coverage and is unable to pay for valuable follow-up care.
Chris Koziel

Chicago, Illinois

Chris thought his medical troubles were over after successfully completing the chemotherapy and radiation for his leukemia - but after losing his health care coverage, he has been forced to make countless decisions against getting the tests, surgeries and basic medical care he knows he needs because he cannot afford them.
Sarita Scarbrough

Houston, Texas

Sarita lost her health coverage when she left her county and city government job to start her own printing business. At the height of her business, Sarita had 10 employees but could not afford to provide health coverage for them. She has since had to change her business model and now contracts only with independent contractors for the printing work she does.