Number of Americans Without Insurance Reaches Highest Level on Record

Publication Date: August 2004

Publisher: Center on Budget and Policy Priorities (Washington, D.C.)

Author(s):

Research Area: Health

Keywords: Economic projections; Health insurance; Health care costs; Economic inequality

Type: Report

Abstract:

Data that the Census Bureau released today show the number of people who lacked health insurance coverage throughout the year rose to 45.0 million in 2003. This is the largest number of uninsured people ever reported since the Census Bureau began issuing data on the number of uninsured in 1987.

The number of uninsured people was 1.4 million higher in 2003 than in 2002, when 43.6 million were uninsured. This represents the third consecutive year in which the number of uninsured Americans has climbed, with a total increase of 5.2 million since 2000, when 39.8 million were without insurance.

In percentage terms, 15.6 percent of Americans — almost one in every six people — were uninsured in 2003, an increase from 15.2 percent in 2002. Although the economy has been slowly recovering since 2001, health insurance coverage has deteriorated, and as a result, more Americans have been unable to get needed medical care because they are uninsured.