More children were covered by health insurance in 2003 than ever before, according to a June 30, 2004, news release from the National Center for Health Statistics. The overall percentage of Americans lacking health insurance remained unchanged, however, and lack of insurance coverage increased among working-age adults. Minority populations in particular lacked insurance coverage.
The percentage of children without current health insurance coverage decreased from 13.9% in 1997 to 10.1% in 2003. Among poor and near-poor children, tack of coverage decreased by approximately one-third from 1997. For near-poor children, public coverage increased from 24% to 47% between 1997 and 2003. These improvements reflect an increase in public coverage for poor and near-poor children, including that provided by the State Children's Health Insurance Program.
Many children without health insurance come from working families with incomes too high to qualify for Medicaid and too tow to afford private health insurance. More than 70% of poor children younger than 18 years of age rely on public coverage. The increase in public coverage also was observed for other age groups and corresponded with a decrease in private coverage.
Overall, 15.2% of the population--43.6 million people--was without current health insurance coverage in 2003, approximately the same level as in 1997. Recent estimates indicate a decline in coverage for working-age adults in 2003, however. Working-age adults were more likely than older adults or children to tack health insurance coverage, with 20.1% tacking coverage during 2003, an increase from 18.9% in 1997. More than half of unemployed adults were without health insurance in 2003.
Lack of health insurance continues to affect minorities disproportionately. In 2003, approximately 33% of Hispanic people tacked health insurance, a far greater percentage than the African American (17.4%) and Caucasian populations (11%).
These data are reported in the National Health Interview Survey, which was conducted by the National Center for Health Statistics. The survey is based on personal interviews with a sample of the nation's civilian, noninstitutionatized population.
More Children Than Ever Had Health Insurance in 2003, But Coverage For Working-Age Adults Declined (news release, Hyattsville, Md: National Center for Health Statistics, June 30, 2004) http://www.cdc.gov/nchs /pressroom/04news/insur2003.htm (accessed 3 Aug 2004).
