According to the nonpartisan Employee Benefit Research Institute (EBRI), that percentage dropped from 82.6% in 2008 to 81.1% in 2009. At the same time, the share of nonelderly Americans who were uninsured grew to almost 19% in 2009, up from 17.4% in 2008 and above 18% for the first time. Not surprisingly, EBRI noted that the recent economic recession and persistent high employment were the main factors behind the shifts.
According to EBRI:
- 59.0% of the nonelderly had employment-based health coverage in 2009, down from 61.1% in 2008
- More than 214 million nonelderly individuals had health insurance in 2009, down from 217 million in 2008.
- The number of uninsured increased from 45.7 million in 2008 to 50 million in 2009.
More information is available at http://www.ebri.org/pdf/briefspdf/EBRI_IB_09-2010_No347_Uninsured1.pdf