CDC Report Shows Increase in Health Care Coverage for Young Adults

The data is from the 2011 National Health Interview Survey (NHIS), along with comparable estimates from the 1997-2010 NHIS.  Data analyses for the January–March 2011 NHIS were based on 25,136 people.

Highlights from the report show:

•  From January-March 2011, 46.5 million people of all ages (15.3%) were uninsured at the time of the interview. 60.5 million (19.8% had been uninsured for at least part of the year prior to the interview, and 34.2 million (11.2%) had been uninsured for more than a year at the time of the interview.

•  From January-March 2011, the percentage of children under age 18 years old who were uninsured at the time of the interview was 6.9%.

•  Among adults aged 19-25, the percentage uninsured at the time of the interview decreased from 33.9% (10 million) in 2010 to 30.4% (9.1 million) in the first three months of 2011.

•  Private coverage decreased among near poor adults aged 18-64, from 52% in 1997 to 36.1% in the first three months of 2011. The uninsured rate (40.2%) was higher than the private coverage rate (36.1%) for this population.

•  From January-March 2011, 29.1% of the people under age 65 with private health insurance at the time of the interview were enrolled in a high deducible health plan (HDHP), including 8.8% who were enrolled in a consumer-directed health plan (CDHP). More than 50% of people with private plans obtained by means other than through employment were enrolled in an HDHP. An estimated 20.7% of people with private health insurance were in a family with a flexible spending account (FSA) for medical expenses.

To view the full report, visit http://www.cdc.gov/nchs/data/nhis/earlyrelease/insur201109.pdf.