With recession pressures and changes in working patterns, more people are losing insurance

The Des Moines Register examines a new report on the decline in employer-based health insurance while The Philadelphia Inquirer highlights the increasing number of people losing insurance because of the economic downturn. In Georgia, The Atlanta Journal-Constitution finds more people turning to high-deductible insurance policies.

The Philadelphia Inquirer: Falling Through The Uninsured Cracks
Pennsylvania's uninsurance rate rose to 11 percent for 2009 and 2010, up from 9.4 percent for the 2007-08 period. (New Jersey's rate hovered around 15 percent in 2009 and 2010.) The subsidy for laid-off workers to extend health insurance under COBRA ended last month. In February, Pennsylvania officials closed adultBasic, a low-cost insurance plan with half a million people on its waiting list. Obama's Affordable Care Act promises to put more people on Medicaid and into private insurance, but not until 2014, and legal challenges could void it before then. Those without coverage are often turning to local health centers, where they pay sliding rates based on income (Schatz, 10/5).

Des Moines Register: Even With A Job, Insurance Is No Longer A Sure Thing
Employer-based health insurance is quickly becoming a thing of the past for millions of American workers, a new report says. Workers are losing jobs that offer health insurance and getting part-time or contract jobs that make finding affordable coverage more difficult, researchers say in a report released Wednesday by the Iowa Policy Project, a nonprofit in Mount Vernon (Belz, 10/5).

The Atlanta Journal-Constitution: More Georgians Pick Higher Deductibles
With health insurance premiums up 9 percent this year, many Georgians are choosing policies requiring higher deductibles. To some physicians, that's just bad medicine. Others call it a bitter but necessary pill. "A high deductible is a surefire way to keep people from getting the medical care they need, and in the long run to increase health care costs overall," said Dr. Daniel Blumenthal, associate dean for community health at the Morehouse School of Medicine (Emerson, 10/5).