U.S. Census Bureau
September 2011

Income

Real median household income was $49,445 in 2010, a 2.3 percent decline from 2009.

Comparing changes in household income at selected percentiles shows that income inequality is increasing.

Poverty

The official poverty rate in 2010 was 15.1 percent — up from 14.3 percent in 2009.

In 2010, 46.2 million people were in poverty, up from 43.6 million in 2009.

The number of people in poverty in 2010 is the largest number in the 52 years for which poverty estimates have been published.

Health Insurance Coverage

The number of uninsured people increased to 49.9 million in 2010 from 49.0 million in 2009. In 2010, the percentage of people without health insurance, 16.3 percent, was not statistically different from the rate in 2009 (16.1 percent).

The percentage of people covered by private health insurance decreased in 2010 to 64.0 percent (195.9 million). The percentage and number of people covered by government health insurance increased to 31.0 percent and 95.0 million in 2010.

The percentage of people covered by employment-based health insurance decreased to 55.3 percent in 2010 from 56.1 percent in 2009 (decreased to 169.3 million from 170.8 million).

The percentage and number of people covered by Medicaid in 2010, 15.9 percent and 48.6 million, were not statistically different from 2009 estimates.

The percentage and number of people with Medicare coverage in 2010 increased to 14.5 percent and 44.3 million.

In 2010, the uninsured rates decreased as household income increased — 21.8 percent of people in households with incomes ranging from $25,000 to $49,999 were uninsured; 15.4 percent of people in households with incomes ranging from $50,000 to $74,999 were uninsured; and 8.0 percent of people in households with incomes of $75,000 or more were uninsured.

U.S. Census release:
http://www.census.gov/newsroom/releases/archives/income_wealth/cb11-157.html

Full report (95 pages):
http://www.census.gov/prod/2011pubs/p60-239.pdf

Comment: 

By Don McCanne, MD

This Census report for 2010 shows that 919,000 more people were uninsured this past year than in 2009. This may be considered a ho-hum statistic by those who seem to be reassured by the provisions of the Affordable Care Act since the Act would expand coverage. However, there are other reasons to be very concerned, not the least of which are the statistics on income and poverty from this same report.

Of significance is the fact that this report counts anyone who was insured for any part of the year as being insured. It leaves out from the count of the uninsured those who have gaps in their coverage even if they were uninsured for most of the year. This results in a serious undercount of of those impacted by not being insured.

Another important deficiency is that this study makes no effort to quantify the rates of under-insurance. Employers and insurers have been redesigning their insurance products to shift more health care costs to the patient. Many studies have shown that this has impaired access to care and has caused significant financial hardship. The Census report is silent on this problem.

What is the shocker in this report is that these unfavorable insurance statistics are imposed on a background of declining income and expanding poverty. Median household income has dropped to $49,445 while income inequality is increasing. Further, the number of people in poverty (46.2 million) is the largest number in the 52 years for which poverty estimates have been published!

Anyone who has studied the Affordable Care Act realizes that health insurance policies will be very expensive even though they have relatively low actuarial values (leaving the patient responsible for 30 to 40 percent of health care costs). The new national standard in health insurance is “unaffordable under-insurance.” The subsidies for the premiums and for out-of-pocket spending have been shown to be inadequate for far too many people, again impairing access, creating financial hardship, and even leaving tens of millions with no insurance at all.

Had we enacted a single payer national health program, we could have included everyone, while eliminating under-insurance by providing first dollar coverage. We could have paid for it by eliminating the profound administrative waste that uniquely characterizes our system, and by introducing the other efficiencies of a single payer system. Wouldn’t it have been nice to be rid of the problem of the uninsured and under-insured so that we could intensify our efforts to improve income and reduce poverty? Or are those just not our national priorities?

Income, Poverty, and Health Insurance Coverage in the United States: 2010

U.S. Census Bureau
September 2011

Income

Real median household income was $49,445 in 2010, a 2.3 percent decline from 2009.

Comparing changes in household income at selected percentiles shows that income inequality is increasing.

Poverty

The official poverty rate in 2010 was 15.1 percent — up from 14.3 percent in 2009.

In 2010, 46.2 million people were in poverty, up from 43.6 million in 2009.

The number of people in poverty in 2010 is the largest number in the 52 years for which poverty estimates have been published.

Health Insurance Coverage

The number of uninsured people increased to 49.9 million in 2010 from 49.0 million in 2009. In 2010, the percentage of people without health insurance, 16.3 percent, was not statistically different from the rate in 2009 (16.1 percent).

The percentage of people covered by private health insurance decreased in 2010 to 64.0 percent (195.9 million). The percentage and number of people covered by government health insurance increased to 31.0 percent and 95.0 million in 2010.

The percentage of people covered by employment-based health insurance decreased to 55.3 percent in 2010 from 56.1 percent in 2009 (decreased to 169.3 million from 170.8 million).

The percentage and number of people covered by Medicaid in 2010, 15.9 percent and 48.6 million, were not statistically different from 2009 estimates.

The percentage and number of people with Medicare coverage in 2010 increased to 14.5 percent and 44.3 million.

In 2010, the uninsured rates decreased as household income increased — 21.8 percent of people in households with incomes ranging from $25,000 to $49,999 were uninsured; 15.4 percent of people in households with incomes ranging from $50,000 to $74,999 were uninsured; and 8.0 percent of people in households with incomes of $75,000 or more were uninsured.

U.S. Census release:
http://www.census.gov/newsroom/releases/archives/income_wealth/cb11-157.html

Full report (95 pages):
http://www.census.gov/prod/2011pubs/p60-239.pdf

This Census report for 2010 shows that 919,000 more people were uninsured this past year than in 2009. This may be considered a ho-hum statistic by those who seem to be reassured by the provisions of the Affordable Care Act since the Act would expand coverage. However, there are other reasons to be very concerned, not the least of which are the statistics on income and poverty from this same report.

Of significance is the fact that this report counts anyone who was insured for any part of the year as being insured. It leaves out from the count of the uninsured those who have gaps in their coverage even if they were uninsured for most of the year. This results in a serious undercount of of those impacted by not being insured.

Another important deficiency is that this study makes no effort to quantify the rates of under-insurance. Employers and insurers have been redesigning their insurance products to shift more health care costs to the patient. Many studies have shown that this has impaired access to care and has caused significant financial hardship. The Census report is silent on this problem.

What is the shocker in this report is that these unfavorable insurance statistics are imposed on a background of declining income and expanding poverty. Median household income has dropped to $49,445 while income inequality is increasing. Further, the number of people in poverty (46.2 million) is the largest number in the 52 years for which poverty estimates have been published!

Anyone who has studied the Affordable Care Act realizes that health insurance policies will be very expensive even though they have relatively low actuarial values (leaving the patient responsible for 30 to 40 percent of health care costs). The new national standard in health insurance is “unaffordable under-insurance.” The subsidies for the premiums and for out-of-pocket spending have been shown to be inadequate for far too many people, again impairing access, creating financial hardship, and even leaving tens of millions with no insurance at all.

Had we enacted a single payer national health program, we could have included everyone, while eliminating under-insurance by providing first dollar coverage. We could have paid for it by eliminating the profound administrative waste that uniquely characterizes our system, and by introducing the other efficiencies of a single payer system. Wouldn’t it have been nice to be rid of the problem of the uninsured and under-insured so that we could intensify our efforts to improve income and reduce poverty? Or are those just not our national priorities?