US Census Report finds percentage of people with health coverage fell in 2003

US Census Report finds percentage of people with health coverage fell in 2003

A new report from the US Census Bureau reveals that the percentage of Americans with health insurance declined in 2003, despite a rise in the actual number of individuals covered. The report, entitled Income, Poverty, and Health Insurance Coverage in the United States: 2003, is available at fconline.fdncenter.org/pnd/1289/census.

According to the report, the number of people with health insurance rose by approximately one million, from 242.4 million in 2002 to 243.3 million in 2003, while the number without such coverage rose by 1.4 million, to 45 million. As a result, coverage as a percentage of the overall population dropped, from 84.8 percent to 84.4 percent, mirroring a drop in the percentage of people covered by employment-based health insurance.

The report also found that the proportion of uninsured children remained at 11.4 percent, or 8.4 million, in 2003, while the percentage of people covered by government health insurance programs rose, from 25.7 percent to 26.6 percent, largely as the result of increases in Medicaid and Medicare coverage.

Source: Philanthropy News Digest, March 29, 2005