Friday, September 14, 2012

Census Bureau Reports Decrease in People Without Health Insurance


The U.S. Census Bureau announced this week that the percentage of people without health insurance coverage decreased.

The number of people without health insurance coverage declined from 50.0 million in 2010 to 48.6 million in 2011, as did the percentage without coverage - from 16.3 percent in 2010 to 15.7 percent in 2011. These findings are contained in the report “Income, Poverty, and Health Insurance Coverage in the United States: 2011.”

The decrease in uninsurance may be at least partly attributable to a provision in the Affordable Care Act, already in effect, that allows young adults to remain on their parents’ insurance plans. The rate of uninsurance declined for people aged 19 to 25, though it remained unchanged for children under 19 and adults aged 26 to 34, according to the report.

The Census Bureau report can be accessed
here. For information about lack of insurance and mental illness, see Psychiatric News here. And for information about the Affordable Care Act, see Psychiatric News here.

(Image: Stuart Miles/shutterstock.com)