update on health insurance coverage in

Update on health-insurance coverage in the US

The Agency for Health Care Research and Quality (AHRQ) has just

released data on the extent of lack of health coverage, and in

particular the lack of continuity of coverage. This is of course a

central issue for presidential candidates and others who are debating

what to do about the problem. From AHRQ's News and Numbers:

More than 17 million Americans under age 65 - almost a third of

whom are middle income, could be considered continuously uninsured.

This means that they have not had health insurance to help cover

their medical bills for at least four years, according to the

latest News and Numbers from the Agency for Healthcare Research and

Quality. Middle income Americans are defined as living in families

earning between 200 percent and 400 percent of the federal poverty

thresholds, which vary according to family size and composition. In

2004, the base year for these data, poverty level income for a

family of four averaged $19,307. From AHRQ's News and Numbers: The

AHRQ data examined Americans who were continuously uninsured for at

least four years between 2002 and 2005 as well as those who were

uninsured for shorter periods over those years. The AHRQ data also

show that:

o Poor Americans, those in families with incomes at or below the

Federal poverty line, comprised about a quarter of the continuously

uninsured. In contrast, less than 10 percent of the continuously

uninsured were people who lived in families with incomes over 400

percent of the Federal poverty line.

o Fully 17 percent of Hispanics were continuously uninsured,

compared with 7 percent of blacks, and 4 percent of whites.

o Some 12 percent of people age 25 to 29 years of age were

continuously uninsured, followed by Americans age 18 to 24 (11

percent), 30 to 34 (10 percent), 35 to 54 (8 percent), and 55 to 64

(5 percent). However, only 2 percent of children and adolescents

under 18 years of age were continuously uninsured.

posted by Emily DeVoto, Ph.D., @ 10/03/2007 08:54:00 AM

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