Numbers of Americans 
With and Without Health Insurance Rise 

Census Bureau Press Release 30sep03

The number of people with health insurance rose by 1.5 million between 2001 and 2002, to 242.4 million, and the number of uninsured rose by 2.4 million, to 43.6 million, the U.S. Census Bureau reported today.

An estimated 15.2 percent of the population had no health insurance coverage during all of 2002, up from 14.6 percent in 2001, according to the report, Health Insurance Coverage in the United States: 2002.

The proportion of insured children did not change in 2002, remaining at 64.8 million, or 88.4 percent of all children.

For the second year in a row, the overall decrease in coverage was attributed to a drop in the percentage (62.6 percent to 61.3 percent) of people covered by employment-based health insurance.

The percentage of people covered by government health insurance programs rose in 2002, from 25.3 percent to 25.7 percent, largely as the result of an increase in Medicaid coverage.

Other highlights:

• Although Medicaid insured 14.0 million people in poverty, another 10.5 million people representing 30.4 percent of those in poverty had no health insurance in 2002; this percentage was unchanged from 2001.
  
  
• The rate of uninsured Hispanics, who may be of any race, was 32.4 percent in 2002 higher than any other racial or ethnic group, but unchanged from 2001.
  
  
• The proportion of the foreign-born population without health insurance (33.4 percent was more than double that of the native population (12.8 percent).
  
  
• The health insurance coverage rates for non-Hispanic whites who reported a single race was 89.3 percent. For blacks and Asians who reported a single race, the rates were 79.8 percent and 81.6 percent, respectively.
  
  
• Young adults (18-to-24 years old) were less likely than other age groups to have health insurance coverage 70.4 percent in 2002. This compares with 82.3 percent for those 25-to-64 years old and 99.2 percent for those 65 and over, reflecting widespread Medicare coverage.
  
  
• While most children (67.5 percent) were covered by an employment-based or privately purchased health insurance plan in 2002, nearly 1-in-4 (23.9 percent) was covered by Medicaid.
  
  
• The proportion of people who did not have health insurance ranged from about 8.0 percent in Minnesota, Rhode Island, Wisconsin and Iowa to 24.1 percent in Texas, based on three-year averages. New Mexico was the only state where the proportion of people without coverage fell, while the proportion rose in 18 states, based on comparisons of two-year averages.

The estimates in the report come from the 2001, 2002 and 2003 annual social and economic supplements to the Current Population Survey. As in all surveys, the data are subject to sampling variability and other sources of error.

For a detailed discussion on comparing race and Hispanic-origin groups, see U.S. Census Bureau Guidance on the Presentation and Comparison of Race and Hispanic Origin Data.

Source: U.S. Census Bureau Public Information Office (301) 763-3030

Mike Bergman Public Information Office (301) 763-3030/457-3670 (fax) (301) 457-1037 (TDD) e-mail: pio@census.gov 

Detailed tables: http://www.census.gov/hhes/www/hlthin02.html 

source: http://www.census.gov/Press-Release/www/2003/cb03-154.html 30sep03

Selections from: 

Health Insurance Coverage in the United States: 2002

Highlights

• The share of the population without health insurance rose in 2002, the second consecutive annual increase. An estimated 15.2 percent of the population or 43.6 million people were without health insurance coverage during the entire year in 2002, up from 14.6 percent in 2001, an increase of 2.4 million people.
• The number and percentage of people covered by employment-based health insurance dropped in 2002, from 62.6 percent to 61.3 percent, driving the overall decrease in health insurance coverage.
• The number and percentage of people covered by government health insurance programs rose in 2002, from 25.3 percent to 25.7 percent, largely from an increase in the number and percentage of people covered by medicaid (from 11.2 percent to 11.6 percent).
• The proportion of children who were uninsured did not change, remaining at 11.6 percent of all children, or 8.5 million, in 2002.
• Although medicaid insured 14.0 million people in poverty, 10.5 million other people in poverty had no health insurance in 2002; the latter group represented 30.4 percent of the poverty population, unchanged from 2001.
• Hispanics (67.6 percent) were less likely to be covered by health insurance than non-Hispanic Whites who reported a single race (89.3 percent), Blacks who reported a single race (79.8 percent), and Asians who reported a single race (81.6 percent).¹

1 Because Hispanics may be of any race, data in this report for Hispanics overlap with data for racial
  groups. Among householders who reported a single race, Hispanic origin was reported by 11.4 percent
  of Whites; 3.5 percent of Blacks; 27.3 percent of American Indians or Alaska Natives; 1.4 percent of
  Asians; and 19.0 percent of Native Hawaiians and Other Pacific Islanders. Data users should exercise
  caution when interpreting aggregate results for these groups because they consist of many distinct
  subgroups that differ in socio-economic characteristics, culture, and recency of immigration. Data were
  first collected for Hispanics in 1972 and Asians and Pacific Islanders in 1987.

People Without Health Insurance for the Entire Year by Selected Characteristics: 2002

1 The 2003 CPS asked respondents to choose one or more races. White Alone refers to
  people who reported White and did not report any other race category. The use of
  this single-race population does not imply that it is the preferred method of 
  presenting or analyzing data. The Census Bureau uses a variety of approaches. 
  Information on people who reported more than one race, such as "White and American
  Indian and Alaska Native" or "Asian and Black or African American," is available 
  from Census 2000 through American FactFinder. About 2.6 percent of people reported
  more than one race in 2000.
2 Black alone refers to people who reported Black or African American and did not report
  any other race category.
3 Asian alone refers to people who reported Asian and did not report any other race category.
Note: For discussion of statistically significant differences between groups, see text.
Source: U.S. Census Bureau, Current Population Survey, 2003 Annual Social and Economic Supplement.

Uninsured Children by Race, Ethnicity, and Age: 2002 (In percent)

1 The 2003 CPS asked respondents to choose one or more races. White alone refers to
  people who reported White and did not report any other race category. The use of 
  this single-race population does not imply that it is the preferred method of 
  presenting or analyzing data. The Census Bureau uses a variety of approaches. 
  Information on people who reported more than one race, such as "White and American
  Indian and Alaska Native" or "Asian and Black or African American," is available 
  from Census 2000 through American FactFinder. About 2.6 percent of people reported
  more than one race in 2000.
2 Black alone refers to people who reported Black or African American and did not 
  report any other race category.
3 Asian alone refers to people who reported Asian and did not report any other race category.
Note:   For discussion of statistically significant differences between groups, see text.
Source: U.S. Census Bureau, Current Population Survey, 2003 Annual Social and Economic Supplement. 

source: http://www.census.gov/prod/2003pubs/p60-223.pdf 30sep03