US Pharm. 2006;3:7.

The number of uninsured children is declining.
According to the early release of January to June 2005 estimates of the National Health Interview Survey, 14.4% (41.8 million) of people in the United States did not have health insurance. Of those younger than 65, 16.2% (41.5 million) were uninsured; 19.2% of those ages 18 to 64 (34.9 million) and 8.9% of those younger than 18 (6.6 million) had no insurance.

From 2004 to June 2005, there was no significant change in the percentage of uninsured working-age adults (19.3% vs. 19.2%, respectively); however, the percentage of uninsured people younger than 18 years has continued to decline since 1997 (from 18.1% in 1997 to 12.7% in 2004 and to 12.6% in the first half of 2005).

Working-age adults were almost twice as likely to lack health coverage as were those younger than 18 years (23.4% and 12.6%, respectively). During the first six months of 2005, 11.5% of those younger than 65 (29.4 million) had been uninsured for more than a year (14.1% of adults and 5.2% of children). Among adults ages 18 to 64, the percentage of those uninsured for more than a year increased from 12.3% in 2001 to 14.1% in the first half of 2005. The percentage of children uninsured for more than a year decreased from 8.4% in 1997 to 5.2% in the first six months of 2005. Children were less likely than working-age adults to be uninsured for more than a year.




Public Versus Private Insurance
From January to June 2005, 16.9% of those younger than 65 were covered by public health plans, and 68.2% were covered by private health insurance. The percentage of both adults and children with public coverage increased from 1999 through June 2005; however, the differences in the estimates of private or public coverage between 2004 and the first six months of 2005 for both groups were not statistically significant. In the first quarter of 2005, 70.6% of adults younger than 65 were covered by a private health plan, compared to 62.2% of children younger than 18 years. Almost 33% of children were covered by a public health plan; only 11.5% of adults younger than 65 had public health insurance.

The percentage of uninsured poor children decreased from 1997 to June 2005. From 1998 to June 2005, the percentage of uninsured poor adults remained stable, and there was an insignificant increase in uninsured, near-poor adults from 2004 to June 2005. Based on data from the first half of 2005, 72.1% of poor children and 48.2% of near-poor children were covered by a public health plan. The percentage of near-poor children with public health coverage increased from 43.8% in 2004 to 48.2% in the first half of 2005. A similar increase was observed among near-poor adults--from 18.6% in 2004 to 20.9% in June 2005. For those younger than 18 years, the estimates of public coverage increased over time from 1999 through March 2005 among the poor, near-poor, and not-poor groups. However, the largest increase was seen among near-poor children.

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