Highlights
#10: The Uninsured in America, 1997
Estimates for the
U.S. Civilian Noninstitutionalized Population Under Age
65
Introduction
The uninsured population in the United
States is an issue of public policy concern for several reasons.
First, health insurance
is viewed as necessary to ensure that people have access to
medical care and protection
against the risk of costly and unforeseen medical events. Timely
and reliable estimates of the population’s health insurance
status are vital to evaluate the costs and expected impact of
public policy interventions to expand coverage or to change the
way that private and public insurance is funded.
Finally, comparisons of the characteristics
of insured and uninsured populations over time give information
on whether greater equity has been achieved in insurance coverage
or whether serious gaps remain.
Data from the 1997 Medical Expenditure Panel
Survey (MEPS) of the Agency for Health Care Policy and Research
(AHCPR) show that health insurance status among people under
65 varies according to demographic characteristics such as age,
race/ethnicity, sex, and marital status. This report shows the
size of the civilian noninstitutionalized population under age
65 that was uninsured throughout the first half of 1997 and identifies
groups especially at risk of lacking health insurance. Overall,
the health insurance estimates in this report do not differ significantly
from the 1996 MEPS figures reported in Vistnes and Monheit, 1997.
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Briefly Stated
- In the first half of 1997, 16.8 percent
of all Americans were uninsured.
- Among Americans under 65, more than a third
of Hispanics (35 percent) and 23 percent of blacks were uninsured
during the first half of 1997, compared with only 15 percent
of whites.
- Even though Hispanics represented only 12
percent of the non-elderly U.S. population, they accounted
for 22 percent of the entire uninsured population.
- Young adults ages 19-24 were more at risk
of being uninsured than any other age group. More than a third
(35 percent) of young adults were uninsured.
- During the first half of 1997, among people
under age 65, those who were separated from their spouse were
more likely to be uninsured (34 percent) than people of any
other marital status.
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Definition of Uninsured
The uninsured were defined as people not
covered by Medicare, CHAMPUS/CHAMPVA (Armed-Forces-related coverage),
Medicaid, other public hospital/physician programs, or private
hospital/physician insurance (including Medigap coverage) from
January 1997 through the MEPS interview date. People covered only
by noncomprehensive State-specific programs (e.g., Maryland Kidney
Disease Program) or private single-service plans (e.g., coverage
for dental or vision care only, coverage for accidents or specific
diseases) were not considered to be insured.
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Findings
In early 1997, 16.8 percent of all Americans
were uninsured and 18.9 percent of Americans under age 65 were
uninsured (data not shown). Age plays a key role in whether a
person has health insurance. Young adults ages 19-24, 35 percent
of whom were uninsured, were the age group most at risk of being
uninsured (Figure 1). This group
composed 9 percent of the total non-elderly population but 16
percent of the uninsured population (data not shown).
Among people under age 65, minorities were
substantially more likely than whites to lack health insurance.
Approximately 35 percent of all Hispanics under
65 were uninsured, compared to 23 percent of blacks and 15 percent
of whites (Figure 2). Although
70 percent of non-elderly Americans were white, whites accounted
for less than 60 percent of uninsured persons (Figure
3). Among males under age 65 (Figure
4), being uninsured was more likely among Hispanics (39 percent)
than among blacks (25 percent) or whites (17 percent). Similarly,
among females under 65, being uninsured was more likely among
Hispanics (30 percent) than among blacks (21 percent) or whites
(14 percent).
People who never married accounted for over
a fifth (22 percent) of the non-elderly population but over a
third of the uninsured population (data not shown). Also, more
than a third (34 percent) of all people under 65 who were separated
from their spouse were uninsured (Figure
5).
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About MEPS
The Medical Expenditure Panel Survey (MEPS)
collects nationally representative data on health care use, expenditures,
sources of payment, and insurance coverage for the U.S. civilian
noninstitutionalized population. MEPS is cosponsored by the Agency
for Healthcare Research and Quality (AHRQ) and the National Center
for Health Statistics (NCHS). This Highlights summarizes
data concerning the characteristics of the uninsured population
in the United States during the first half of 1997, as derived
from the MEPS Household Component, Round 1. For more information
about MEPS, see the sources listed on the back page.
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Figures
Figure 1.
Percent uninsured by age: People under age 65, first half of
1997
- Young adults ages 19-24
were more likely than any other age group to be uninsured.
DATA
SOURCE: 1997
Medical Expenditure Panel Survey Household Component.
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Figure 2. Percent
uninsured by race/ethnicity: People under age 65, first half
of 1997
- Whites were the least
likely to be uninsured.
DATA SOURCE: 1997
Medical Expenditure Panel Survey Household Component.
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Figure 3. Percent
distribution of total population and the uninsured by race/ethnicity:
People under age 65, first half of 1997
- Hispanics
were disproportionately represented
among the uninsured.
DATA
SOURCE: 1997
Medical Expenditure Panel Survey Household Component.
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Figure 4. Percent
uninsured by race/ethnicity and sex: People under age 65, first
half of 1997
- Hispanic
males
were the most likely to be uninsured.
DATA
SOURCE: 1997
Medical Expenditure Panel Survey Household Component.
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Figure 5. Percent
uninsured by marital status: People under age 65, first half
of 1997
- People
who were separated or had never married were more likely to
be uninsured.
DATA
SOURCE: 1997
Medical Expenditure Panel Survey Household Component.
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References
For more information about
MEPS, call the MEPS information coordinator at AHRQ (301-594-1406)
or visit the MEPS Web site at: http://www.meps.ahrq.gov/
For a detailed description
of the MEPS survey design, sample design, and methods used to
reduce sources of nonsampling error, see the following publications:
Cohen J. Design and methods
of the Medical Expenditure Panel Survey Household Component.
Rockville (MD): Agency for Health Care Policy and Research; 1997.
MEPS Methodology Report No. 1. AHCPR Pub. No. 97-0026.
Cohen S. Sample design
of the 1996 Medical Expenditure Panel Survey Household Component.
Rockville (MD): Agency for Health Care Policy and Research; 1997.
MEPS Methodology Report No. 2. AHCPR Pub. No. 97-0027.
The estimates in this Highlights are
based on the following, more detailed publication:
Vistnes JP, Zuvekas SA.
Health insurance status of the civilian noninstitutionalized
population: 1997. Rockville (MD): Agency for Health Care Policy
and Research; 1999. MEPS Research Findings No. 8. AHCPR Pub.
No. 99- 0030.
Estimates for 1996 are
shown in: Vistnes JP, Monheit AC. Health insurance status of
the civilian noninstitutionalized population: 1996. Rockville
(MD): Agency for Health Care Policy and Research; 1997. MEPS
Research Findings No. 1. AHCPR Pub. No. 97- 0030.
MEPS Highlights No. 9, AHRQ Pub. No. 99-0031,
August 1999.
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Suggested Citation:
Highlights #10: The Uninsured in America, 1997. August 1999. Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality, Rockville, MD. http://www.meps.ahrq.gov/data_files/publications/hl10/hl10.shtml |
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