Uninsured Stats Continue to Climb – April 2005

The number of uninsured and underinsured people has been on the upswing in recent years. An estimated 45 million people, or 15.6 percent of the American population, were without health insurance in 2003, up from 43.6 million people, or 15.2 percent, in 2002, according to the Census Bureau. In Pennsylvania, 1.4 million individuals were uninsured in 2003. The percent of uninsured Pennsylvanians grew from 7.3 percent to 11.4 percent between 2000 and 2003 (U.S. Census Bureau). The Pennsylvania Insurance Department is conducting a study of people without health insurance in Pennsylvania, including an estimate of the uninsured adult and child population at the state and county levels. The results will be reported in 2005.