The number of Americans with health insurance increased to more than 260 million in 2011, rising for the first time since 2007, according to a report released Sept. 12 by the U.S. Census Bureau.
The expansion in health care coverage came mostly from increases in the number of people enrolling in public insurance programs such as Medicare and Medicaid. Enrollment in private insurance, which covers nearly 64% of Americans, was statistically unchanged from 2010. However, this is the first time in the last decade that private insurance coverage has not declined, according to the report.
The biggest increase in health insurance coverage was among adults aged 19-25 years, a group that is now eligible to remain as a dependent on their parents’ health insurance under the Affordable Care Act.
In 2011, the number of people without health insurance dropped to 48.6 million or about 15.7% uninsured, down from 50 million (16.3%) in the previous year.
About 9.7% of children (7.6 million) were uninsured in 2011. This is statistically unchanged from 2010, according to the Census Bureau. However, small upticks in insurance coverage were seen in every other age group.
The Census Bureau findings are based on information collected in the 2012 Current Population Survey Annual Social and Economic Supplement.