Dear Editor,

The Oct. 1 article “Universal health care should be demanded,” cites a figure of 46 million uninsured Americans.

This oft-quoted statistic is actually a gross overestimation of the problem, as recent research suggests the number of Americans who cannot currently afford health insurance is much lower.

A new study by Dr. June O’Neill, who served as Director of the Congressional Budget Office from 1995-1999, shows that nearly half of those uninsured Americans could likely afford to purchase health coverage.

The average “voluntarily uninsured” household makes $65,000 per year.

We should not rush into the creation of a new, expensive health care system without a better understanding of the uninsured population.

As long as we continue basing our arguments on inaccurate numbers, it’s hard to see how we can make effective policy decisions.

– Kristen Lopez Eastlick