US Medical Uninsured Rate and Number Up from 2017

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The crisis in American health care continues.  Since 2018, 8.5% of people, or 27.5 million, did not have health insurance at any point during the year. The uninsured rate and number of uninsured increased from 2017 (7.9% or 25.6 million), according to the U.S. Census Bureau*.

Healthcare of course is one of the key issues in the ongoing UAW GM strike.

The percentage of people with health insurance coverage for all or part of 2018 was 91.5%, lower than the rate in 2017 (92.1%). Between 2017 and 2018, the percentage of people with public coverage decreased 0.4% points, and the percentage of people with private coverage did not statistically change.

In 2018, private health insurance coverage continued to be more prevalent than public coverage, covering 67.3% of the population and 34.4% of the population, respectively. Of the subtypes of health insurance coverage, employer-based insurance remained the most common, covering 55.1% of the population for all or part of the calendar year.

Between 2017 and 2018, the percentage of people covered by Medicaid decreased by 0.7% points to 17.9%. The rate of Medicare coverage increased by 0.4% points. The percentage of people with employment-based coverage, direct-purchase coverage, TRICARE, and VA or CHAMPVA health care did not statistically change between 2017 and 2018.

The percentage of uninsured children under the age of 19 increased by 0.6% points between 2017 and 2018, to 5.5%. Between 2017 and 2018, the percentage of people without health insurance coverage at the time of interview decreased in three states and increased in eight states.

*Edward R. Berchick, Jessica C. Barnett, and Rachel D. Upton Current Population Reports, P60-267, Health Insurance Coverage in the United States: 2018