In America, the number of uninsured is increasing every year and there is no solution to the problem. In 2009, the number of uninsured Americans approached fifty million. In an economy where unemployment is at an all-time high, millions of Americans are uninsured due to unemployment. There are also many uninsured Americans who work, however the cost of health insurance continues to rise and many families choose not to have insurance so that bills can still be paid. Lack of insurance has had the greatest effect on thousands of Americans who suffer from chronic illnesses. These Americans are now unable to go to the doctor regularly and continue to take the daily medications needed to keep them out of hospitals. While the number of uninsured has increased nationwide, the general population's awareness of the effects of the uninsured has not increased comparably. As our economy struggles to get back on its feet, the unemployment rate is falling, but at a very slow pace. . With so many people still out of work, many Americans who previously had health insurance found themselves unable to pay for private insurance or COBRA. COBRA is a health insurance plan that allows an employee who leaves a company to continue to be covered by the company's health plan, for a certain period of time and under certain conditions. With COBRA insurance you now have to pay the full price of your health insurance, which means you are now responsible for the portion paid by the company and your previous fees. For most unemployed people this is an unsustainable figure. When one or more family members are unemployed, as is the case… half the card… they are canceled and the expenses are passed on to future patients, most commonly to insured ones. While no agreed-upon solution has been reached regarding our nation's uninsured problem, nearly everyone agrees that the problem must be addressed. Everyone deserves access to appropriate medical care at a reasonable price. Work Cited Wilhelmine Miller, Elizabeth Richardson Vigdor, and Willard G. Manning Covering the Uninsured: What's It Worth? Health affairs, no. (2004)Paul Frontstin, EBRI (2001). Workers and access to health care: Consequences of Bing's uninsurance. Retrieved February 27, 2012, from http://www.ebri.org/pdf/publications/Books/economic_cost_of_uninsuring.pdfThe Economic Impact of the Uninsured; Published: March 9, 2005 in knowledge@Emoryhttp://knowledge.emory.edu/article.cfm; recovered February 27, 2012