Number Of Americans Lacking Health Insurance Reached 47 Million In 2006
According to a report released by the U.S. Census Bureau on income, poverty, and health insurance coverage, poverty rates fell and the real median income of households in the United States increased slightly between 2005 and 2006; at the same time, however, the real median earnings of workers declined last year, while the percentage of Americans without health insurance climbed to record levels.
Compiled from information collected in the Annual Social and Economic Supplement of the 2007 Current Population Survey and the 2006 American Community Survey, the study found that the real median household income increased 0.7% between 2005 and 2006, from $47,845 to $48,201. This increase represents the second consecutive year of growth in median incomes after five years of decline but remains 2.1% lower than the prerecessionary peak of $49,244 recorded in 1999, researchers noted.
The study also found that the percentage of Americans living below the federal poverty line fell for the first time this decade, from 12.6% in 2005 to 12.3% in 2006. At the same time, however, the real median earnings of full-time, year-round workers decreased between 2005 and 2006, with median earnings for men falling 1.1% to $42,261 and median earnings for women declining 1.2% to $32,515.
The 2006 poverty rates for children (17.4%) and people between the ages of 18 and 64 (10.8%) were statistically unchanged from 2005, according to the report. The overall decline in the poverty rate was, researchers said, largely driven by a decrease in the poverty rate among Americans aged 65 and older from 10.1% in 2005 to 9.4% in 2006.
The Census Bureau analysis further revealed that both the number and percentage of Americans with no health insurance coverage rose in 2006: The uninsured rate climbed from 15.3% in 2005 to 15.8% in 2006, while the number of uninsured individuals grew from 44.8 million to 47 million. The data showed that, between 2005 and 2006, the percentage of people covered by government health programs declined from 27.3% to 27.0%, while the percentage of Americans covered by private insurance, either employer-sponsored or privately purchased, fell from 68.5% to 67.9%. Researchers observed that the drop in private insurance was largely driven by a decline in employer-provided coverage, which slid from 60.2% in 2005 to 59.7% in 2006.
Broken down by age group, the study found that the uninsured rate rose from 10.9% in 2005 to 11.7% in 2006 among children aged 18 and under, and from 25.7% to 26.9% among Americans between the ages of 18 and 34. Meanwhile, the percentage of people over the age of 65 who lacked insurance coverage increased only slightly, from 1.3% in 2005 to 1.5% in 2006.
Commenting on the release of the report, President Bush said, “When we keep taxes low, spending in check, and our economy open—conditions that empower businesses to create new jobs—all Americans benefit.”
The Census Bureau data, the president added, “confirms that more of our citizens are doing better in this economy, with continued rising incomes and more Americans pulling themselves out of poverty.”
Despite the dip in the poverty rate, House of Representatives Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-CA) said, middle class and working families, in particular, are losing ground. “Americans are working harder but living paycheck to paycheck, struggling to make ends meet and going deeper into debt because of the high cost of health care, energy, and education,” Rep. Pelosi observed.
