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Fewer Americans Uninsured Than Previously Reported

March 27, 2007

           The U.S. Census Bureau revised its 2005 data on the uninsured this week, after discovering the initial data was off by 1.8 million people. The new numbers show 44.8 million people were uninsured as of 2005, and not 46.6 million as previously reported. While the error was blamed on a software glitch, experts with the National Center for Policy Analysis (NCPA) said the mistake points to bigger issues with the census data.

 

            "The way the U.S. Census Bureau reports the number of uninsured is misleading at best and essentially meaningless at worst," said Devon Herrick, senior fellow with the NCPA. "Being uninsured is usually a transitory state, since most uninsured Americans are only without coverage for a short time.  Conversely, the Census report implies this is a chronic state." 

 

            "The problem with the Census is it tends to track the uninsured at one point in time.  People tend to respond with their current insurance status, even when asked if they lacked coverage for the entire year," continued Herrick.

 

            Census figures showing 44.8 million uninsured likely overstate the chronically uninsured.  For instance, a recent Congressional Budget Office report places the actual numbers of full-year uninsured at between 21 million and 31 million.

 

            There are many factors involved in being uninsured. For example:

 

  • One-third of uninsured live in households earning more than $50,000 per year;
  • 12 million people qualify for government programs, like SCHIP and Medicaid, but have not bothered to enroll; and
  • An estimated 10 million are immigrants, many of whom are undocumented.

 

            "Its good news that there are fewer uninsured Americans than previously thought," said Herrick. "But we have to remember that data like this can be virtually meaningless. To truly effect a meaningful reduction in the number of the uninsured, we need to start with getting a better understanding of who is chronically uninsured, and why."

 

 

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