The percentage of individuals under age 65 without health insurance increased in 2006 to 17.9 percent, up from 17.2 percent in 2006--meaning that 46.4 million individuals under age 65 did not have health insurance last year. The numbers, based on an annual analysis of Census Bureau data by the Employee Benefit Research Institute (EBRI), showed a decline in employer-based coverage. The report appears in the October 2007 EBRI Issue Brief.
According to the report, those more likely to have employment-based health benefits than others include full-time, full-year, public-sector employees; workers employed in manufacturing, managerial and professional occupations; and individuals living in high-income families.
Individuals more likely to be uninsured include workers employed in agriculture, forestry, fishing, mining, and construction; members of low-income families; part-time workers; those who are self-employed or working in private-sector firms; and men. Also, individuals of Hispanic origin were more likely to be uninsured than other groups (35.7 percent), perhaps due in part to the fact that 51 percent of the Hispanic population reported incomes of less than 200 percent of the federal poverty level. Read the brief.
