One in every six Americans under the age of 65 did not have health insurance (18%) in 2006, for a total of 46.5 million people.

As throughout most of the 1990s, the number of uninsured has continued to grow steadily every year since 2000.  Between 2000 and 2004, the number of uninsured grew by nearly six million.  In the past two years —and despite an improving economy between 2004 and 2006 — the number of uninsured grew by an additional 3.4 million.

Reversing years of steady improvement in children’s health coverage, the number of uninsured children grew by one million over the past two years and accounted for a third of the growth in the uninsured in the most recent year, 2006. While the number of uninsured Americans has been growing, who the uninsured are, and the social and economic factors that place a person at risk of being uninsured, have not changed substantially over time. Two-thirds of the uninsured are individuals and families who are poor(incomes less than the federal poverty level or $20,614 for a family of four in 2006) or near-poor (within comes between one and two times the poverty level). Another16% have incomes just above this level (between two and three times the poverty level).

Over eight in ten of the uninsured come from working families. More than70% are from families with one or more full-time workers. Employer-sponsored insurance is not an option for the large majority of uninsured employees —70% work where health benefits are not offered either by their own employer or a spouse’s or they are not eligible for them. Young adults, racial and ethnic minorities, and those who are not U.S. citizens are more likely to be uninsured. However,45%of the uninsured are white, and the large majority of uninsured are adults over the age of 25 and Americanc itizens.

The purpose of this primer is to present basic information about the uninsured—who they are and why they do no thave health coverage. It also provides a necessary understanding of the difference health insurance makes in people’s lives. Beyond this, The Uninsured: A Primer also explains how and why the problem is growing andc oncludes with an overview of currently proposed solutions.

Download The Uninsured: A Primer

PDF format, 2.3MB, 45Pages. October 2007.

The Uninsured: A Primer
Key facts aboutut Americans withoutut health insurance

Nearly 47 million Americans under the age of 65lacked health insurance coverage in 2006, an increase of 2.1 million from the year before.

Despite an improving economy,the chances of being uninsure dincreased —particularly among children.

The Kaiser Commission on Medicaid and the Uninsured provides information and analysis on health care coverage and access for the low-income population, with a special focus on Medicaid’s role and coverage of the uninsured. Begun in 1991 and based in the Kaiser Family Foundation’s Washington, DC office, the Commission is the largest operating program of the Foundation.

The Commission’s work is conducted by Foundation staff under the guidance of a bipartisan group of national leaders and experts in health care and public policy.

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