Health Insurance Coverage 2006

Highlights:

• Both the percentage and the number of people without health insurance increased in 2006. The percentage without health insurance increased from 15.3 percent in 2005 to 15.8 percent in 2006 and the number of uninsured increased from 44.8 million to 47.0 million.
• The number of people with health insurance increased to 249.8 million in 2006 (up from 249.0 million in 2005). In 2006, the number of people covered by private health insurance (201.7 million) and the number of people covered by government health insurance (80.3 million) were not statistically different from 2005.
• The percentage of people covered by employment-based health insurance decreased to 59.7 percent in 2006, from 60.2 percent in 2005.
• The percentage of people covered by government health programs decreased to 27.0 percent in 2006 from 27.3 percent in 2005. The percentage and the number of people covered by Medicaid were statistically unchanged at 12.9 percent and 38.3 million, respectively, in 2006.
• The percentage and the number of children under 18 years old without health insurance increased to 11.7 percent and 8.7 million in 2006 (from 10.9 percent and 8.0 million, respectively, in 2005). With an uninsured rate in 2006 at 19.3 percent, children in poverty were more likely to be uninsured than all children.
• The uninsured rate and the number of uninsured in 2006 were not statistically different from 2005 for non-Hispanic Whites (at 10.8 percent and 21.2 million). The percentage and the number of uninsured Blacks increased (from 19.0 percent and 7.0 million in 2005) to 20.5 percent and 7.6 million in 2006.
• The percentage and the number of uninsured Hispanics increased to 34.1 percent and 15.3 million in 2006.

Source: U.S. Census Bureau, Housing and Household Economic Statistics Division

Determining which type of health insurance is right for you will depend on your personal situation.