Census Uninsured Numbers
The Census Bureau released their annual report on poverty, income, and the uninsured this morning; the report is online and can be found here. Important figures you need to know from the health insurance section of the report:
- The total number of uninsured rose to 50.6 million, an increase of 4.3 million compared to 2009.
- The uninsured rate rose 1.3 percentage points to 16.7 percent. As previously noted, this uninsured rate matches the August total unemployment rate—including discouraged workers who have left the workforce and part-time workers who cannot find full-time employment—of 16.7 percent.
- The number of individuals with private insurance fell by 6.5 million, led by a decline in the number of individuals with employer-sponsored health insurance of 6.6 million.
- The number of individuals with government-provided health insurance rose by almost 5.8 million, led by an increase in Medicaid enrollment of nearly 5.2 million; the Medicare population also rose by 400,000.
- In sum, the rise in the number of uninsured reflects an increase in population growth (2.9 million), coupled with the fact that the losses in employer-sponsored insurance were not offset by the increase in government coverage through Medicaid.
- The number of non-citizens (both legal and illegal) without health insurance rose by 677,000, to just under 13 million. Non-citizens comprise just over one-quarter of the total number of uninsured.
- The number of uninsured with household incomes under $25,000 rose by 1.8 million, to 15.5 million (or 30.6% of the uninsured). Many of these individuals may be eligible for public assistance through Medicaid and SCHIP. (Also, as noted in yesterday’s analysis, a significant number of uninsured may in fact already be enrolled in these programs, but their insurance status is not accurately reported by the Census data.)
- The number of uninsured with household incomes over $75,000 rose by 836,000, to over 10.5 million (or about 20.8% of the total number of uninsured). Many of these individuals may be able to obtain coverage on their own, but may choose not to do so if they do not consider the insurance policies offered to be of value to them.
It’s also important to note that 2009 was the year in which a significant expansion of SCHIP was enacted. While it’s unlikely that the entire migration from employer-sponsored coverage to Medicaid (which also includes SCHIP) was entirely caused by individuals voluntarily dropping out of employer coverage to enroll in government-sponsored coverage, it’s also equally unlikely that this factor did not play a contributing role in increasing the number of uninsured.
It’s also important to note that, to the extent the increase in the number of uninsured reflects a drop in employer-sponsored coverage, this number reflects the continued lack of economic growth—and, more critically, jobs growth—under this Administration’s policies. Even liberal organizations have directly linked loss of insurance coverage to loss of employment. However, such a link directly connects the rising number of uninsured to the Obama Administration’s failed predictions about the employment effects of their “stimulus” policies.