Number, percentage of uninsured U.S. residents decreased in 2007, according to U.S. Census Bureau

Government-Sponsored Programs

Census officials attributed the drop in uninsured people to an increase in the number of children -- particularly the number of low-income children -- enrolled in government-sponsored health insurance programs, such as SCHIP and Medicaid (Los Angeles Times, 8/27). The increase in the percentage of people covered through government-sponsored programs more than offset the drop in the proportion of people with private coverage, notably those with employer-based insurance, according to David Johnson, chief of the Census Bureau's Housing and Household Economic Statistics division (Knight, Dow Jones, 8/26).

Overall the number of people enrolled in government-sponsored health programs increased to 83 million in 2007 from 80.3 million in 2006. The number of people enrolled in Medicaid increased from 38.3 million to 39.6 million in 2007 (Los Angeles Times, 8/27). An additional one million U.S. residents enrolled in Medicare last year, and the federal government's military health care programs covered 400,000 more people in 2007 than in 2006 (Dougherty/Zhang, Wall Street Journal, 8/27).

Diane Rowland, executive vice president of the Kaiser Family Foundation and executive director of the Foundation's Commission on Medicaid and the Uninsured, said, "In 2007, at least 26 states made efforts to expand coverage, but as the economy has turned downward so have state efforts." She added that insurance premiums have been rising faster than wages and inflation, causing many people to seek coverage through government-sponsored programs. The report also found the median income of working-age households was $2,010 lower than its 2000 level and insignificant when adjusted for inflation (New York Times, 8/27).

Presidential Candidates' Comments

Presumptive Republican presidential nominee Sen. John McCain (Ariz.) said the report "reminds us that Americans are suffering in a struggling economy. Too many of our neighbors are living in poverty ... and too many are living without health insurance" (Wall Street Journal, 8/27).

Presumptive Democratic presidential nominee Sen. Barack Obama (Ill.) said, "Today's news confirms what America's struggling families already know -- that over the past seven years, our economy has moved backwards" (USA Today, 8/27). In a statement Obama said that "an additional 7.2 million Americans have fallen into the ranks of the uninsured. This is the failed record of George Bush's economic policies that Sen. McCain has called 'great progress'" (Young, The Hill, 8/26).

Comments

Bruce Lesley, president of the children's advocacy group First Focus, said, "While this decline is a temporary victory for kids, we fear next year's data will paint a worse picture for America's children than ever before, as the effects of a sluggish economy will be coupled with the inability of Congress to pass renewal of [SCHIP] over President Bush's two vetoes" (Los Angeles Times, 8/27).

Peter Cunningham, a senior fellow at the Center for Studying Health System Change, said public health insurance programs "are expensive, and when tax revenues fall [it] is going to be harder to keep them up" (Dow Jones, 8/26). Paul Fronstin, director of the health research and education program at the Employee Benefit Research Institute, said that the decrease does not reflect "what's going on right now," adding, "We have a much weaker economy than a year ago, much higher inflation. Very unlikely that this trend will continue into 2008" (Vitez, Philadelphia Inquirer, 8/27).

Kevin Hayden, WellPoint head of government contracting, said that the shift toward government programs presented "an opportunity for the private sector and the government to work together," and that expanding government-sponsored programs provides options for people who do not have access to employer-sponsored coverage or cannot afford quality health care.

Karen Ignagni, president of America's Health Insurance Plans, said the "modest decline" does not "reduce the urgency of the crisis." She said that the private health insurance industry has made several proposals over the past two years intended to provide coverage for the uninsured, improve quality and contain costs -- including expanding government programs for low-income and chronically ill patients (Los Angeles Times, 8/27).

Commonwealth Fund President Karen Davis said, "States such as Massachusetts have also played an important role in stemming the rising tide of uninsured, and thanks to their health reform law, they now have one of the lowest uninsured rates," adding, "But 45.7 million uninsured people are far too many, and we need a national solution to this crisis" (New York Times, 8/27).

The Census Bureau report is available online.

Editorials

• New York Times: The decline in the number of uninsured U.S. residents -- from 47 million in 2006 to 45.7 million in 2007 -- indicated in Tuesday's Census Bureau report is a "mirage when it comes to health insurance" because it is still 7.2 million U.S. residents higher than it was in 2000, a Times editorial states. The editorial continues that even the improvements from 2006 to 2007 "were entirely attributable to an increase in the number of people enrolled in Medicaid and other public programs." According to the Times, although there has been six years of "solid economic growth," it "is clear is that economic growth alone will not cut it for most American families." The editorial continues, "The benefits must be shared more broadly," which "means more progressive taxation, increasing access to affordable health care, investing more in public education." The editorial concludes, "President Bush was too busy cutting taxes on top earners to think about any of these priorities. The next president must do much better" (New York Times, 8/27).
• Seattle Post-Intelligencer: "Truth be told, we already have a government-funded health care system; we just pretend we don't," according to a Post-Intelligencer editorial. The editorial continues, "There's this supposed mix of private and public insurance, but the fact is the U.S. government (you know, we, the taxpayers) spend nearly a quarter more for government health care programs than say, Canada (a country that is supposed to have government-controlled health care)." The news that fewer U.S. residents are uninsured "looks great until you see that what's declining is private insurance coverage and what's increasing is the number of people eligible for government programs such as Medicaid," according to the Post-Intelligencer. The editorial states, "It's time to organize government health care into a single-payer system, one that covers all U.S. residents," as it is "the most cost-effective route forward" (Seattle Post-Intelligencer, 8/26).
• Wall Street Journal: Although the number of uninsured U.S. residents has declined, "a closer inspection of the numbers shows some dark clouds around the silver lining," according to a Journal editorial. The editorial states, "While total enrollment in private insurance remained stable -- due to population growth -- it eroded slightly in percentage terms, continuing a downward trend." Meanwhile "growth in coverage was mostly concentrated in public programs -- partially due to an aging population shifting to Medicare, but especially in Medicaid," according to the Journal. The editorial continues, "Each year, a significant portion of the uninsured qualifies for government assistance but hasn't signed up," adding, "In other words, the latest batch of data shows, again, that the policy problem of the uninsured isn't as large as election-year opportunism would have it." The editorial continues that such figures do not discount "the genuine hardships that the fragmented health care system metes out to many families." Instead, it signifies that "insurance is more expensive than it needs to be thanks to regulation and other market interference." As a result, many "get priced out of coverage" while others choose to forgo coverage and "gamble on going uninsured." According to the editorial, "most of the gaps in coverage" result from the tax code, under which the 59.3% of insured U.S. residents who are covered through their employers pay no taxes on the benefit, while lower-wage workers -- "who typically have less generous plans as part of their compensation" -- receive smaller tax subsidies and people who purchase individual coverage receive no tax benefits. The editorial states, "Restoring the tax parity of health dollars would allow individuals to buy policies themselves, rather than rely on their employers, and take those policies with them wherever they work," adding, "It would increase access and affordability for everyone" (Wall Street Journal, 8/27).

Broadcast Coverage

NPR's "All Things Considered" on Tuesday reported on the Census Bureau report (Neighmond, "All Things Considered," NPR, 8/27).

NPR's "Day to Day" on Tuesday also reported on the report. The segment includes comments from Bob Moon (Brand, "Day to Day," NPR, 8/26).

NPR's "Morning Edition" on Wednesday included coverage of the report (Lewis, "Morning Edition," NPR, 8/27).