Hispanics in the U.S. are
most likely to be uninsured
Newswise — Hispanics make up 15
percent of the U.S. population and almost 29 percent of the
uninsured. More than one in three Hispanics is uninsured, and 25
percent has only public health insurance, according to the
government’s leading health expenditure survey. In addition,
Hispanics constitute 36 percent of all uninsured children under 18.
The 2004 Medical Expenditure Panel
Survey (MEPS) findings released today by the Agency for Healthcare
Research and Quality provide data on the uninsured, including
detailed breakdowns by subpopulation groups. These breakdowns are
intended to help policymakers and others understand health insurance
status in detail.
According to the 2004 survey, for
adults under age 65:
* White non-Hispanics made up 65
percent of the U.S. population and almost 50 percent of the
uninsured. About one in seven whites was uninsured, and 10 percent
had only public insurance.
* Black non-Hispanics made up almost 13 percent of the population
and almost 15 percent of the uninsured. About one in five blacks was
uninsured, and 28 percent had only public insurance.
“These results confirm the urgency
of identifying effective policies to expand access to care for all
Americans, particularly Hispanics," said AHRQ Director Carolyn M.
Clancy, M.D. "The MEPS is a unique resource for evaluating the
impact of proposed solutions for different populations.”
Findings on uninsured Americans in
a given year are often presented in three ways: people uninsured for
a full year, those ever uninsured during a year, and those uninsured
for a specific point in time. The MEPS provides data for all three
categories and also covers a 2-year period. The data provided in
this most recent MEPS release reflect insurance status for a
specific point in time- the first part of 2004.
Additional MEPS data from the
first part of 2004 show:
* For the population under age 65,
19 percent (48 million) were estimated to be without health
insurance.
* For children under age 18, nearly 12 percent (8.5 million) were
uninsured. These most recent estimates of children without health
insurance were significantly lower than estimates from the previous
decade, mostly due to public insurance expansions aimed at children,
including Medicaid and the State Children’s Health Insurance
Program.
* Young adults aged 19-24 were at greatest risk of being uninsured,
with 35 percent having no insurance coverage for the first part of
2004. Furthermore, this lack of coverage was worst for young
Hispanic adults, with 56 percent uninsured.
Details about the uninsured are in
several statistical briefs just released by AHRQ, including The
Uninsured in America, 2004: Estimates for the U.S. Civilian
Noninstitutionalized Population under Age 65, available at
http://www.meps.ahrq.gov/papers/st83/stat83.pdf; The Uninsured
in America, 1996–2004: Estimates for the U.S. Civilian
Noninstitutionalized Population under Age 65, available at
http://www.meps.ahrq.gov/papers/st84/stat84.pdf; and Health
Insurance Status of Children in America, 1996–2004: Estimates for
the U.S. Civilian Noninstitutionalized Population under Age 18,
available at
http://www.meps.ahrq.gov/papers/st85/stat85.pdf. Furthermore, a
set of charts illustrating more detailed summaries of the data
mentioned in this release can be found at
http://www.meps.ahrq.gov/PressReleaseCharts_JR072905.ppt.
About MEPS: AHRQ’s expenditure
survey collects information each year from a nationally
representative sample of U.S. households about health care use,
expenses, access, health insurance coverage, health status and
quality. It is unique in its degree of detail and in its ability to
link data on health spending and health insurance to various
characteristics of individuals and families. People surveyed by MEPS
are followed for 2 consecutive years, providing additional depth and
value to its data, especially in differentiating between short-term
lack of insurance and persistent lack of insurance.
MEPS data are publicly available
for use by researchers, policymakers and others at
http://www.meps.ahrq.gov/. Analytical tools to enhance the
usability of the survey also are provided on the MEPS Web site.
These include MEPSnet, a menu-driven analytic tool that allows
customized tabulations to be produced in real time in a
non-programming environment (http://www.meps.ahrq.gov/MEPSNet/MEPSnetIntro.htm),
and the MEPS Household Compendia of Tables which present detailed
national estimates from the MEPS Household Component in tabular form
(http://www.meps.ahrq.gov/CompendiumTables/TC_TOC.htm.
About federal health insurance
surveys: Information about health insurance status is collected as a
part of several different federal surveys. As part of broader
surveys, these efforts examine different aspects of the problem,
while also providing the benefit of validation for one another’s
findings. The data provided today reflect insurance status for a
specific period of time. By comparison, the often-cited health
insurance data provided as part of the Census Bureau’s annual
Current Population Survey are estimates for full-year lack of
insurance.
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