The latest numbers from the U.S. Census Bureau indicate the number of Kansans without health insurance may have increased slightly over the previous year.
Statistics from the bureau’s Current Population Survey, which were released today, show that 12.7 percent of Kansans were without coverage in 2008-2009. The statistic reported for 2007-2008 was 12.4 percent.
If accurate, the new report means 347,424 Kansans lacked health coverage, or about 10,000 more than previously known.
The percentage of U.S. residents without health insurance was 16.7 percent, or more than 50 million people from a total population of about 304 million.
The statistics are considered the most reliable information about the status of U.S. health insurance coverage, income and poverty. The CPS is the Census Bureau’s longest running survey. It has been measuring poverty, income and other trends since 1964. The data is extrapolated based on survey samples drawn from about 100,000 households.
According to the survey, the largest number of uninsured continue to be young adults ages 19 through 34. They accounted for about 45 percent of the uninsured. Roughly one in five Kansans in those age brackets was without health coverage.
Almost 75,000 of the Kansas uninsured were children under age 18, about 3,000 more than reported in the previous survey.
The new report showed no significant change in major trends:
- Poor people are far more likely to be uninsured than those with higher incomes despite government assistance programs.
- The uninsured continue to be disproportionately black, Native American or Hispanic.
Overall, the report showed that poverty increased in the U.S. between 2008 and 2009 along with the number of those who lacked health insurance. The national poverty rate is now 14.3 percent, the highest since 1994. The Kansas poverty rate is 13.7 percent.
Median household income in the Midwest region fell 2.1 percent.
Median U.S. household income was $49,777 in 2009, not statistically different than the 2008 median household income.
Per capita income dropped 1.2 percent to $26,530.