Little change in health coverage

More than 9% of U.S. children and 14% of all Americans lacked health insurance in 2004, new data show.

The report, from the National Center for Health Statistics, shows a slight improvement in insurance coverage for children but suggests no increase in the number of adults covered.

“In 2004, over 90% of America’s children had health insurance at the time of the interview -- a steady rise from the first report in 1997,” the NCHS, part of the federal Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, said.

“In 2004, 9.4% of children -- 7 million children under 18 years of age -- were without health insurance. In contrast, in 1997, about 14% -- 10 million children -- lacked coverage.”

The report says nearly 70% of U.S. children rely on health insurance from state and federal sources, mostly through the State Children’s Health Insurance Program. However, adults are doing no better than they did in 1997, the study found.

“Overall, 14.6% of the population -- 42.1 million Americans of all ages -- was without current health insurance coverage in 2004, about the same level as in 1997,” the NCHS said.