Number of uninsured growing

Quick View. July 16, 2007.

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No matter which time period is used as the basis for calculations, the number of uninsured Americans increased last year.

In a new survey, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention measured the lack of insurance three ways.

The 54.5 million people in 2006 who lacked insurance for at least part of the previous year represent 18.6% of the population.

The number of people who went uninsured for more than a year jumped 4.6 million in five years.

Note: The three measures are not mutually exclusive, and a given individual could be counted in more than one measure.

Source: Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, "Health Insurance Coverage: Early Release of Estimates from the National Health Interview Survey," June (www.cdc.gov/nchs/data/nhis/earlyrelease/insur200706.pdf)

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