The Census Bureau has issued revised figures on health insurance coverage, showing that more Americans have health insurance coverage than previously reported. The revised estimates show that in 2005, 44.8 million people--15.3% of the population--were without health insurance, which is about 1.8 million fewer than the Census Bureau reported in August 2006. The original 2005 estimate was 46.6 million, or about 15.9% of the population.
Conversely, an estimated 249 million Americans had coverage, up from the 247.3 million reported in August. The Census Bureau discovered the need for a revision during a conversion to a more accurate operating system for its population survey. In improving the quality and timeliness of the data, the Census Bureau noted that, in a small percentage of cases, some residents in a household were tabulated as “not covered” by insurance when they had in fact reported coverage. Read the Census Bureau statement.
