Number of U.S. uninsured held nearly steady in 2012: Census Bureau
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The number of U.S. residents without health insurance held nearly steady last year, the U.S. Census Bureau said Tuesday.
The number of uninsured in 2012 fell to 48.0 million, down from 48.6 million in 2011, while the percentage of the population without coverage dropped to 15.4% from 15.7%. Those changes were not statistically different, the Census Bureau said.
The number of people with health insurance coverage in 2012 rose to 263.2 million, up from 260.2 million in 2011.
The percentage of people covered through employer-sponsored plans in 2012 was 54.9%, which was not statistically different compared to the 55.1% coverage rate in 2011, the Census Bureau said. In 2011, the coverage rate also held steady, which marked the first time in a decade that the coverage rate through employment-based plans did not fall.
Similarly, the number of people in employer-sponsored plans inched up in 2012 to 170.9 million, which was not statistically different compared to 170.1 million in 2011.
The percentage of people covered through government programs also only changed slightly.
For example, the percentage of the population covered by Medicaid — the federal-state program for the poor — declined in 2012 to 16.4% from 16.5%, and the number people enrolled in Medicaid increased to 50.9 million from 50.8 million. These changes also were not statistically significant.
The percentage and number of people enrolled in Medicare set records last year. In 2012, 48.9 million people were enrolled in Medicare, up from 46.9 million in 2011, while the percentage of the population covered by Medicare increased to 15.7%, up from 15.2% in 2011
At 4.1%, Massachusetts had the lowest uninsured rate of any state in 2012, according to the Census Bureau. That is largely the result of a 2006 law that created a program in which the state subsidizes health insurance premiums of the low-income uninsured.
On the other hand, Texas had the highest state uninsured rate at 24.6%.
