Uninsured Rate Shrinking, Census Data Shows

Data released Wednesday by the U.S. Census Bureau holds good news for the Obama administration as it continues to work to convince a dubious electorate of the power of the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act:

• During 2011, the first full year of healthcare reform, fewer people were uninsured than in 2010. Some 48.6 million Americans representing 15.7% of the total population were uninsured compared to 49.9 million uninsured in 2010. The 2011 data also records the first drop in the number of the uninsured since the beginning of the recession in 2008.
• The uninsured rate among 19 to 25 year olds dropped to 27.7% in 2011 from 29.8% in 2010. PPACA allows dependents under age 26 to remain on their parent's health insurance policies.
• The percent of people covered by employer-sponsored health insurance held almost steady 55.1% (2011) and 55.3% (2010). With only one or two exceptions, the percentage of employment-based coverage has dropped each year since 2000 when the rate stood at 64%.
• The number of people with health insurance increased to 260.2 million, which is up from 256.6 million in 2010.

The data is from the Census Bureau report, Income, Poverty and Health Insurance Coverage in the United States: 2011.

The 2011 data ilustrates the effects of the PPACA and hints at economic recovery, according to Stephen Zuckerman, PhD, a health economist with the Urban Institute, a Washington, D.C.-based non-partisan research institute.

He notes that a provision of the PPACA related to young adults remaining on their parent's health insurance coverage "seems to be showing through in the data" as more young people take advantage of this opportunity.

Attracting so-called "young invincibles" into the health insurance market is key to helping insurers spread risk as PPACA requirements to cover pre-existing conditions go into effect.

Zuckerman points to stability in the employer-sponsored health insurance market as among the indicators of an improved economy. While acknowledging that the recovery has "been tepid by historical standards," he says there has been some stability and employment has improved, which means fewer people are losing their insurance coverage.

He adds that the break in the upward trend in the number of uninsured also reflects improvement in the economy. "This is definitely a turnaround. Coming out of the recession it looks the number of people without coverage has stopped increasing."

As might be expected, household income influenced the uninsured rate with incomes of less than $50,000 accounting for 46.9% of uninsured. Households with more than $75,000 in income accounted for only 7.8% of the uninsured.

According to Census Bureau figures, Medicare and Medicaid enrolled a record number of beneficiaries in 2010, 46.9 million and 50.8 million, respectively. The percent of people covered by government health insurance has steadily increased from 24% in 2000 to 32% in 2010.

Zuckerman says the increased Medicaid enrollment indicates the important role this program plays as a backstop for many Americans. "Anyone who looks at this data will see how important Medicaid is for certain segments of the population."

Other Census Bureau findings on the health insurance market in 2011:

• The uninsured rate for children posted a very slight decline to 9.4% from 9.8%.
• The rate of full-time employees who are uninsured increased to 15.3% from 15%.
• The rate of part-time employees who are uninsured declined to 27.7% from 28.5%.
• Hispanics account for 15.7 million or 30.1% of the uninsured. The numbers are statistically unchanged from 2010.
• Blacks account for 7.7 million or 19.5% of the uninsured, which is a slight decline from 2010.
• Asians account for 2.7 million or 16.8% of the uninsured. While the number of uninsured Asians increased slightly, the rate dropped from 18.1% in 2010.
• Non-Hispanic whites account for 21.7 million or 11.1% of the uninsured. The number of uninsured in this category posted a 1.4 million drop from 2010 while the rate declined from 11.7%.