Public misconceptions about the uninsured were recently documented in a public opinion survey financed by the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation. When asked to characterize the uninsured, 48% of those surveyed pointed to the poor, 37% said the unemployed and 35% said the elderly. Only 10% thought the uninsured included working families.

In a study often cited by opponents of universal coverage, Katherine Swartz of Harvard's School of Public Health found that about 15% to 19% of the uninsured go without coverage for more than two years. She also found that 48% obtained coverage within five months after losing it.

Most of those without health insurance are from working-class families. Here is a profile of America's uninsured: FAMILY INCOMES Family incomes less than $20,000: 55% $20,000 to $50,000: 35% Above $50,000: 10% UNEMPLOYED Employed or children: 83% Unemployed adults: 17% RACE OR ETHNICITY Anglo: 58% Latino: 19% Black: 18% Other: 5% SIZE OF EMPLOYER Work for firms employing less than 25 people: 35% 25-99 workers: 16% 100-999 workers: 15% 1,000 or more: 21% Self-employed: 13% SEX Male: 56% Female: 44% WHERE THEY LIVE Urban: 78% Rural: 22% Sources: Employee Benefits Research Institute, March 1992 figures; Associated Press