Not in poverty but not insured

High cost of private policies is pushing more in Indiana's middle class to do without

By Tim Evans

For years, Carl Brown had a health insurance plan that covered his every medical need.

The Bloomington man, working as a printer for Indiana University, paid just $1 a month for a broad array of coverage with low co-pays.

That ended when he was laid off in 2001. Since then, Brown, 52, has been able to find other printing jobs, but none offering health-care coverage.

More than one-third of the 46 million uninsured in the United States live in families with incomes of more than $40,000. The nation's median household income was $46,326 in 2005. These people are among the fastest growing subgroup of uninsured today.