EMBARGOED UNTIL: 12:01 A.M. EDT, SEPTEMBER 15, 1998 (TUESDAY) Public Information Office CB98-166 301-457-3030/301-457-3670 (fax) 301-457-4067 (TDD) Robert Bennefield 301-457-3242 Nearly 3 in 10 U.S. Residents Experience Health Insurance Interruption, Census Bureau Reports About 29 percent of the population (71.5 million people) lacked health insurance for at least one month in a 36-month period starting in early 1993, and approximately 4 percent (9.1 million people) were uninsured for the entire 36 months, according to a report released today by the Commerce Department's Census Bureau. (The embargoed report and tables can be accessed at<http://www.census.gov/dcmd/www/embargo/embargo.html>. Call the Public Information Office to obtain access information. After the release time,go to<http://www/census.gov/hhes/www/hlth9394.html>.) "Among other findings, one-third of children were without health coverage for at least one month," according to the report. The report, Dynamics of Economic Well-Being: Health Insurance, 1993 to 1995, P70-64, provides a comprehensive look at those who do and do not have health insurance, the types of insurance they have and the characteristics of people who are covered by health insurance and of those who are not. It also provides information on how long people go without health insurance. The report makes these other points for the 36-month survey period: - The percentages of people who spent at least one month without health insurance were: - 25 percent for non-Hispanic Whites, 37 percent for African Americans and 50 percent for Hispanics. - People residing in the South were the most likely to experience one or more months without health insurance (34 percent). The rates for the other regions were: 31 percent in the West, 25 percent in the Northeast and 24 percent in the Midwest. The rates for the Northeast and Midwest were not significantly different. - People living in suburban areas were more likely to have continuous health insurance coverage (74 percent) than people living in central cities or outside metropolitan areas (68 percent). - People without a high school diploma had a median spell of 7.6 months without health insurance coverage, much longer than the 4.0 months of noncoverage for those with at least one year of college. - The data are from the 1993 Survey of Income and Program Participation. As in all surveys, the data are subject to sampling variability and other sources of error. A faxed copy of the report may be obtained by calling the Public Information Office's 24-hour Fax-on-Demand service on 1-888-206-6463 and requesting Document No. 1327.-X-The Census Bureau pre-eminent collector and provider of timely, relevant and quality data about the people and economy of the United States. In more than 100 surveys annually and 20 censuses a decade, evolving from the first census in 1790, the Census Bureau provides official information about America's people, businesses, industries and institutions.
