At the Brink: Trends in America’s Uninsured 1994-2007

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The report shows:

* More Americans are uninsured. Nationwide, the total number of uninsured has increased by nearly 9million, to 45.7 million. Across the U.S., 22 percent of men are uninsured, up from 19 percent; 18 percent of women are uninsured, up from 16 percent.

* More working people are uninsured. Nationwide, the number of working uninsured adults has increased by more than 6 million, to 26.9 million. Currently, nearly one in five working adults (18 percent) is uninsured.

* More kids have insurance. Nationwide, the rate of uninsured kids has fallen by 13 percent, to 9.2 million, which experts attribute to more children being covered by government insurance programs like Medicaid and the Children’s Health Insurance Program (CHIP).

* Fewer people have private health insurance. Nationwide, the percentage of nonelderly people who have private insurance has dropped to 67 percent, down from 73 percent. Alaska, North Carolina, Utah, Vermont, and Virginia have all seen the percentage of privately insured residents erode by 10 percent or more.

* Workers’ insurance costs have risen far faster than incomes. Average costs for an individual insurance policy have increased 61 percent – from $2,560 in 1996 to $4,118 in 2006. Nationwide, the amount that employees pay for an individual policy has increased 79 percent, with wages in the U.S increasing just 10 percent over the period.

Read More:

* Read the Report Synopsis
* Download the Full Report (PDF)
* View a Map of U.S. Uninsured Workers
* Learn about Cover the Uninsured

http://covertheuninsured.org/content/study-shows-more-people-go-without-health-coverage-insurance-costs-outpace-income-eight-fold

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1. “The case for reform couldn’t be clearer”

* Nationwide, nearly 9 million more Americans are uninsured.

* Six million more working people are uninsured in the United States.

* Nationwide, average costs paid by an employee for an individual health insurance premium have risen nearly eight times faster than average U.S. incomes.

* The percentage of nonelderly people with private health insurance has decreased to just 67 percent, down six percentage points nationwide.

http://covertheuninsured.org/content/study-shows-more-people-go-without-health-coverage-insurance-costs-outpace-income-eight-fold

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