Number of Those Without Health Insurance Edges Down

Fewer Americans lacked health insurance last year as a then-robust economy and government programs helped more children and poor people get coverage.

About 14% of Americans, or 38.7 million people, were without coverage during the entire year in 2000, down from 14.3%, or 39.3 million, in 1999, the Census Bureau reported Friday.

With unemployment low during that period, more people were able to get insurance through their employers. And analysts said more lower-income families and children picked up coverage through programs such as Medicaid and the Child Health Insurance Program.

But the overall trend is likely to reverse this year as the economy struggles, said Ron Pollock, executive director of the consumer group Families USA.

“As the worsening economy and the repercussions of Sept. 11 result in many people losing jobs, health coverage relief becomes increasingly urgent,” Pollock said.

Since the terrorist attacks, more than 100,000 layoffs have been announced in the airline and related industries.

Among other proposals, Senate leaders are studying a bill introduced by Sen. Jean Carnahan (D-Mo.) that would provide up to $3.75 billion in health insurance, unemployment benefits and training for displaced airline workers.

“It is time to make expanded health coverage, especially through existing public programs, an important national priority,” Pollock said.

Much of the decrease in the number of uninsured Americans was due to more people getting coverage through employers, said bureau analyst Robert Mills.

And while long-held disparities still existed between whites and minority groups and the rich and poor, some positive signs emerged, Pollock said.

Among the findings:

* 29.5% of poor Americans were uninsured in 2000, down from 31.1% in 1999.

* 11.6% of children younger than 18 were uninsured, down from 12.6%.

Much of those gains came as a result of the children’s health program, initiated in 1997, and Medicaid, said Steven Findlay, research director of the National Institute for Health Care Management.

Those programs may become even more critical in the coming weeks and months for struggling, laid-off workers, Findlay said.

Discouraging signs about the affordability of quality health care arose even before the deadly East Coast hijackings, some experts noted.

For instance, a report released earlier this week by the Center for Studying Health System Change found the cost of health care jumped 7.2% last year, the largest increase in a decade.

Premiums increased 11%, according to the study from the Washington-based independent research organization.

“Everyone is hoping to see some dramatic turnaround,” Findlay said. “But all the forces at play here would point to a decline” in the number of people with health insurance.

The census figures came from a survey of 50,000 households taken in March that was separate from the 2000 head count.

Because of a change in the questions asked on the survey, the latest results were not comparable to any figures before 1999, the bureau said.

Other findings:

* Native Americans and Alaskan natives were the least likely among minority groups to have health insurance.

* By age group, Americans 18 to 24 were least likely to be insured. Many in this group are in college or just starting out in jobs that may not offer health coverage right away.