The number of people in the US without health insurance fell
26 08 08 - 11:53
Health insurance coverage in U.S. rises
The Census Bureau says a drop in the number of uninsured in 2007 is due to expanded coverage for children.
By Lisa Girion, Times staff writer
The number of people in the United States without health insurance fell to 45.7 million in 2007 from 47 million a year earlier, primarily because of an expansion in government-provided coverage for children, the U.S. Census Bureau said today.
Real median household income climbed for a third year in 2007, up 1.3% to $50,233, according to the annual census report on income, poverty and health insurance coverage.
Meanwhile, the U.S. poverty rate remained statistically unchanged at 12.5% in 2007, with 37.3 million living in poverty, up from 36.5 million a year earlier.
The rate of people without health insurance declined to 15.3% in 2007, down from 15.8% a year earlier. Census officials attributed the unexpected dip to the rise in the number of children, particularly poor children, receiving government-sponsored health coverage.
"This is the main reason for the fall in the uninsured rate for children and for the fall in the overall uninsured rate," said David Johnson, a census official. "The fall in private insurance was similar to recent years. That fall was offset by the rise in government insurance."
It was the first annual drop in the level of people without health insurance since President Bush took office.
Overall, the percentage of people covered by government programs rose from 27% to 27.8% in 2007. The percentage and number of people on Medicaid, the government health insurance program for low-income residents, rose to 13.2%, or 39.6 million, in 2007, up from 12.9%, or 38.3 million, in 2006.
By contrast, private health insurance receded, covering 67.5% of U.S. residents in 2007, down from 67.9% a year earlier. Employment-based coverage also continued its long decline in 2007, dropping to 59.3% from 59.7%.
The expansion of government coverage for children cut into the percentage and number of people under 18 without insurance, which dropped to 11%, or 8.1 million, in 2007, from 11.7%, or 8.7 million, a year earlier.
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