This report presents data on income, poverty, and health insurance coverage in the United States based upon information collected in 2008. The data indicate that median income increased between 2006 and 2007, while the poverty rate did not change and the number of people with health insurance increased. These results, however, were not uniform across demographic groups.

More than one in five Hispanic children is uninsured—nearly three times the rate of non-Hispanic White children. Because health coverage has been shown to improve children’s access to timely care, the coverage gap has serious ramification for Latino children’s health and well-being. Yet Latino children and their families face structural barriers that prevent them from adequately accessing all health coverage systems in the United States. In order to ensure equitable health outcomes for Latinos and other children of color, policymakers must address these barriers and eliminate the health coverage gap.

From 2000 to 2004, during a period of economic recession, the number of uninsured Americans increased by 6.0 million. The number increased by 3.4 million between 2004 and 2006, despite improving economic conditions during that time. The dominant factor in both periods was a decline in employer-sponsored insurance coverage. Although the recent decline was less than that experienced from 2000 to 2004, growth in public coverage was small, and the number of uninsured people increased by 1.0 million children and 2.4 million adults. Employer coverage declined most for self-employed or small-firm workers, in the South, and among noncitizens.

This issue brief presents data showing the role that flexibility in the SCHIP program has played in allowing states to address the growing gap in health insurance affordability among the nation’s children. It focuses on the increasing costs to families of securing health coverage, both in terms of the absolute costs and as a proportion of income. The issue brief shows that by allowing states the flexibility to decide which children to cover under SCHIP, they are able to take into account local variations in terms of the cost of living, expand coverage to those with higher incomes, and implement appropriate cost-sharing mechanisms.

This issue brief provides a portrait of uninsured children in America. It explains that after years of success in providing coverage to more of America’s uninsured children, Census Bureau data show that in 2006 the number of uninsured children increased for the second year in a row. If those trends continue, it is estimated that roughly 2,000 children will join the ranks of the uninsured each day, adding to the 9 million uninsured children currently without private or public health insurance.

These tables provide detailed information on health insurance coverage by key demographic characteristics using the March 2007 Annual Social and Economic Supplement to the Current Population Survey. Tables on the U.S. nonelderly population are presented for both national and state-level data.

This report explores the growing problem of uninsurance in the United States—who the uninsured are, why they are uninsured, the consequences of being uninsured, and some of the policy options currently under consideration. Data are used from the March 2007 Annual Social and Economic Supplement to the Current Population Survey.

This series of reports provides results from a nationwide review of state efforts to provide health care coverage to uninsured children. It shows that a large number of states throughout the country have proposed, passed, or implemented initiatives to cover more children.

The nationwide shift to public-sector health insurance coverage for children is even more pronounced for rural America where more than one-third of all children rely on SCHIP and Medicaid for health care. Enrollment in SCHIP and Medicaid is 6 percentage points higher for rural children than for urban children. Given the deteriorating job situation in many parts of rural America, the availability of public-sector health insurance for the families of low-income workers is even more important in rural areas than in other parts of the country.

In an analysis based on the 2005 Current Population Survey, the authors estimate that approximately 80 percent of the uninsured are currently eligible for public health insurance coverage or live in families with income below 300% of the federal poverty level. The report states that policy options to reduce the number of uninsured will vary depending on if the population is eligible for public coverage or if financial assistance is needed to obtain coverage.

Based on 2005 Census Bureau data, this report provides basic facts about children's health insurance coverage through charts and tables.

This issue brief analyzes data released by the Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality. It shows that from 1996 to 2004 the uninsured rate among children declined, largely due to public coverage programs available for children.

Having health insurance is important as coverage helps individuals receive timely medical care, improving their lives and health. This policy brief discusses the negative impacts associated with a lack of coverage, as well as some of the potential benefits to expanding coverage.

This report uses data from the 2000 and 2003 Kids’ Inpatient Database (KID) on hospital stays to investigate the effect of insurance status on children’s treatment and health outcomes when admitted to a hospital with a variety of common pediatric conditions, including traumatic brain injury, appendicitis, and middle ear infections. The results indicate that uninsured children are less likely to receive invasive procedures, even if they are more effective, and are more likely to have worse health outcomes. 

This paper reviews previous studies on the relationship between health insurance and health status to address the question of whether health insurance causes improved health outcomes.  Quasi-experimental and experimental studies indicate that health insurance can in fact improve health, but the relative effectiveness of various types of coverage and benefits remains unknown.

Almost three out of every ten Americans, more than 70 million people, were uninsured for at least one month over a three-year period between 1993 and 1996. This brief highlights some myths and realities about this uninsured population, discusses the factors that cause uninsurance, and offers a profile of the uninsured population. It is the first in a series of six reports by the Institute of Medicine on the problems of having a large uninsured population in the United States.