According to a new report issued June 25 by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention National Center for Health Statistics, the number of uninsured Americans increased by 2 million from 2005 to 2006. That increase was almost entirely in the nonelderly adult (younger than age 65) group.
The report, Early Release of Health Insurance Estimates Based on Data from the 2006 National Health Interview Survey, examines data collected from interviews in more than 100,000 households nationwide. Some of the highlights include:
• In 2006, there were 43.6 million Americans of all ages who did not have health insurance (at the time of the interview), or 14.8% of the population.
• Among working-age Americans (those ages 18-64), 19.8% did not have health insurance in 2006, an increase from 18.9% in 2005.
• Approximately 9.3% of children under age 18 did not have health insurance in 2006, an increase from 8.9% in 2005.
• In 2006, the percentage of uninsured at the time of interview among the 20 largest states ranged from 7.7% in Michigan to 23.8% in Texas. Read the report.
