Sources of Health Insurance and Characteristics of the Uninsured: Analysis of the March 2009 Current Population Survey

36 Pages Posted: 23 Sep 2009

See all articles by Paul Fronstin

Paul Fronstin

Employee Benefit Research Institute (EBRI)

Date Written: September 1, 2009

Abstract

This paper examines the status of health insurance coverage in the United States. Based on EBRI estimates from the U.S. Census Bureau’s March 2009 Current Population Survey (CPS), it reflects 2008 data. It also discusses trends in coverage for the 1994-2008 period and highlights characteristics that typically indicate whether an individual is insured. The report focuses on the nonelderly population (under age 65) because this group can receive health insurance coverage from a number of different sources, and because Medicare covers nearly all individuals age 65 and older. The estimates presented in this report therefore differ from those published by the Census Bureau. As a result of this difference between EBRI and Census Bureau estimates, this report shows a higher percentage of uninsured in the United States. The percentage of the nonelderly population (under age 65) with health insurance coverage decreased to 82.6 percent in 2008. Increases in health insurance coverage have been recorded in only four years since 1994, when 36.5 million nonelderly individuals were uninsured; in 2008, the uninsured population was 45.7 million. Employment-based health benefits remain the most common form of health coverage in the United States. In 2008, 61.1 percent of the nonelderly population had employment-based health benefits, down from 68.4 percent in 2000. Between 1994 and 2000, the percentage of the nonelderly population with employment-based coverage expanded. This paper also discusses recent trends in health insurance coverage and some of their causes; the determinants of having employment-based health insurance coverage as well as other types of coverage; the uninsured population and the factors associated with being uninsured; and policy implications. The final section of the paper presents conclusions. Data sources are discussed in more detail in the appendix.

Keywords: Employment-based benefits, Health insurance coverage, Uninsured

JEL Classification: I1, J3, J32

Suggested Citation

Fronstin, Paul, Sources of Health Insurance and Characteristics of the Uninsured: Analysis of the March 2009 Current Population Survey (September 1, 2009). EBRI Issue Brief, No. 334, September, 2009, Available at SSRN: https://ssrn.com/abstract=1477096

Paul Fronstin (Contact Author)

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