Medical Bills Piling Up For Underinsured

miamiherald.com — The underinsured include the working poor whose employers don't provide full coverage, people who lose their jobs and their employer-subsidized insurance, and those who fail to understand the fine print in policy contracts and end up with less coverage than they expected. A 2007 survey by the Commonwealth Fund estimates 25 million Americans are underinsured, up from 16 million in 2003. It defined "underinsured'' as those with insurance who pay more than 10 percent of their income on medical expenses. Underinsurance closely tracks the economy, experts say. "People often become underinsured because they lose their jobs,'' says Lori Parham, Florida state director for AARP. "They can't afford to continue the good insurance they had through their employer, so they shop around for cheaper coverage — policies with low cost, but so many limitations.''

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