August 2006

47 million Americans remain uninsured

The real median household income in the United States is $46,326, yet 46.6 million people in this country are without health insurance, according to a report released by the U.S. Census Bureau.

The real median income rose by 1.1 percent between 2004 and 2005, while the nation’s official poverty rate remained statistically unchanged at 12.6 percent. The 46.6 million uninsured people represent 15.9 percent, up from 15.6 the year before.

Although the number of uninsured role slightly, the number of people with health insurance coverage increased by 1.4 million to 247.3 million between 2004 and 2005.

Significantly, between 2004 and 2005, people covered by employment-based health insurance (174.8 million) declined from 59.8 percent to 59.5 percent.

While the number of people covered by government health programs increased between 2004 and 2005, from 79.4 million to 80.2 million, the percentage of people covered by government health insurance remained at 27.3 percent. There was no statistical difference in the number or percentage of people covered by Medicaid (38.1 million and 13.0 percent, respectively) between 2004 and 2005.

The proportion and number of uninsured children increased between 2004 and 2005, from 10.8 percent to 11.2 percent and from 7.9 million to 8.3 million, respectively.

Source: U.S. Census Bureau, www.census.gov

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