A consumer information project of Health Access, ACORN, CalPIRG, Congress of California Seniors, Consumers Union, Health Consumer Alliance and Western Center on Law and Poverty, funded by Community Catalyst.

Are you underinsured?

There is no standard definition of underinsured, but the problem of underinsurance is growing:

• An estimated 25 million Americans are "underinsured," a 60 percent increase since 2003.
• Middle-income families experienced the largest growth in underinsurance, with the number of underinsured nearly tripling from 2003 to 2007. 

The Commonwealth Fund classifies people as underinsured if they had insurance all year, and either:

• spent more than 10% of their income on out-of-pocket medical expenses (OOPs),

OR

• had an income level below 200% FPL and spent more than 5% of income on OOPs,

OR

• had a deductible that took 5% or more of their income.

 

Use our underinsurance calculator to figure out whether you could be considered underinsured.