EMBARGOED UNTIL: JUNE 24, 1996 (MONDAY) Public Information Office CB96-102 301-457-3030 301-457-4067 (TDD) Robert Bennefield 301-763-8578 NEARLY THREE IN TEN AMERICANS HAVE INTERRUPTION IN HEALTH INSURANCE COVERAGE, CENSUS BUREAU REPORTS EMBARGOED UNTIL: JUNE 24, 1996 (MONDAY) - Approximately 27 percent of the population (66.6 million people) lacked health insurance for at least one month in a 28-month period starting in early 1992; about 11.9 million people (4.8 percent) were uninsured during that entire period. These findings are contained in a report, "Dynamics of Economic Well-Being: Health Insurance, 1992 to 1993," released today by the Commerce Department's Census Bureau. The information was collected in the bureau's Survey of Income and Program Participation (SIPP). The SIPP, which surveys approximately 20,000 households across the country, is designed to collect information on the economic well-being of persons, families and households. This latest report provides a comprehensive look at those who do and do not have health insurance, the types of insurance coverage used (including employer or union plans, other privately purchased plans, Medicare, medicaid, and military health care), and the characteristics of people who are or are not covered by health insurance. It also provides information on how long people go without health insurance. According to the report, work experience has a significant effect on health insurance coverage: 87 percent of persons who worked full-time during the survey's time frame were covered continuously by health insurance, compared with 74 percent for part-time workers, and 58 percent for workers with one or more job interruptions. "Health insurance coverage is commonly associated with other life circumstances, such as employment, retirement, and government program participation. The data indicate there is a strong likelihood some segments of the population will change health insurance status over time," says the report's author Bob Bennefield. Some other findings over the 28-month survey period are: - Young adults--between 18 and 24 years old--were the most likely age group to lack insurance for at least one month. - The percentages of people who spent at least one month without health insurance were: 23 percent for Whites (not of Hispanic origin), 36 percent for African Americans, and 49 percent for persons of Hispanic origin. - People who lived in the South and West were more likely to experience one or more months without health insurance coverage than those living in the Northeast or Midwest. The percentages of people with one or more months without health insurance coverage were: 31 percent in both the South and West, 23 percent in the Midwest, and 22 percent in the Northeast. As in all surveys, the data in this report are subject to sampling variability and other sources of error. The attached chart shows the percent of persons covered by health insurance (1992-1994), by length of coverage.-X-Editor's note: media representatives may obtain copies of the report from the Census Bureau's Public Information Office on 301-457-3030; fax: 301-457-3670, or e-mail: pio.@census.gov. Other orders should be directed to the bureau's FastFax: 1-900-555-2FAX (there is a nominal fee); Customer Services Branch on 301-763-INFO(4636); or fax: 301-457-3842.
