The number of uninsured people in the United States grew by 3.4 million from 2004 to 2006, even as a resurgent economy raised incomes and lowered poverty rates, Urban Institute researchers report in a Health Affairs web exclusive study published Feb. 20. In fact, on an annual basis, the ranks of the uninsured grew faster in 2005 and 2006 than they did during the four years from 2000 through 2004, when 6 million people became uninsured.
According to the researchers, the dominant factor behind the growing number of uninsured was the decline in employer-sponsored health coverage. From 2000 to 2004, the rate of employer coverage fell dramatically: In 2000, 67.8 percent of the nonelderly were covered by employer-sponsored insurance, but by 2004, only 63.3 percent had such coverage.
Declines in employer-sponsored insurance rates occurred at all income levels but were most pronounced for the low-income, note the researchers. They warn that the erosion of employer-sponsored insurance is likely to continue, particularly for low-income people, as long as the basic factors underlying it, including rising healthcare costs, remain unchanged. Read the abstract.
