EMBARGOED UNTIL: 2:00 P.M., EDT, SEPTEMBER 28, 2000 (THURSDAY) Public Information Office CB00-160 301-457-3030/301-457-3670 (fax) 301-457-1037 (TDD) e-mail: pio@census.gov Robert Mills 301-457-3213 Chances of Having Health Insurance Increase, Reversing 12-Year Trend, Census Bureau Says The number of people without health insurance declined by 1.7 million between 1998 and 1999, from 44.3 million to 42.6 million, the Commerce Department's Census Bureau reported today. This marks the first year-to-year decline since 1987 when the Census Bureau first collected comparable health insurance data. Similarly, the proportion of the nation's residents without health insurance coverage declined from 16.3 percent in 1998 to 15.5 percent in 1999. That, too, was the first drop since 1987. "The driving force behind this improvement was an increase in the likelihood of people having employment-based health insurance," said Robert Mills, author of Health Insurance Coverage: 1999. Mirroring the positive change in the total population, the number and proportion of uninsured children declined from 11.1 million (15.4 percent) in 1998 to 10.0 million (13.9 percent) in 1999. For the Census Bureau, children are 18 years old and younger. Other highlights from the report: - Young adults (18 to 24 years old) remained the least likely of any age group to have health insurance coverage, but their chances of having coverage increased by 1 percentage point to 71.0 percent in 1999. - Although the Medicaid program insured 12.9 million poor people during at least a portion of 1999, 10.4 million poor, or 32.4 percent, had no health insurance of any kind during the year. Both the number and percentage of uninsured poor remained unchanged from 1998. - The proportion of people without health insurance ranged from 24.1 percent for those in households with annual incomes of less than $25,000 to 8.3 percent for those in households with incomes of $75,000 or more. Compared with the previous year, the proportion of people with health insurance increased for those with household incomes under $50,000, but was unchanged for those with higher incomes. - Among those 18 to 64 years old in 1999, full-time workers were less likely than their part-time counterparts to be without health insurance (16.4 percent versus 22.4 percent). However, just under half 47.5 percent of poor full-time workers were uninsured in 1999, not statistically different from the percentage of poor part-time workers without insurance. - The proportion without health insurance was higher for Hispanics (33.4 percent) than for non-Hispanic Whites (11.0 percent). The noncoverage rate for African Americans was 21.2 percent, not statistically different from the 20.8 percent for Asians and Pacific Islanders. - In the report, the Census Bureau for the first time shows data on health insurance coverage of American Indians and Alaska Natives. Based on a three-year average (1997-1999), 27.1 percent were uninsured. - The foreign-born population was more likely than the native population to be uninsured 33.4 percent versus 13.5 percent. - Based on comparisons of two-year averages (1998-1999 versus 1997-1998), the proportion of the population without health insurance fell in 15 states and rose in eight others. The health insurance data are from the March 2000 Current Population Survey. Statistics from sample surveys are subject to sampling and nonsampling errors.-X-
