Health Insurance Coverage: Early Release of Estimates From the National Health Interview Survey,
January—June 2011

by Michael E. Martinez, M.P.H., M.H.S.A., and Robin A. Cohen, Ph.D., Division of Health Interview Statistics, National Center for Health Statistics

Highlights

From January through June 2011, 46.6 million persons of all ages (15.3%) were uninsured at the time of interview, 60.0 million (19.7%) had been uninsured for at least part of the year prior to interview, and 34.2 million (11.2%) had been uninsured for more than a year at the time of interview.
From January through June 2011, the percentage of children under age 18 years who were uninsured at the time of interview was 7.3%.
Among adults aged 19–25, the percentage uninsured at the time of interview decreased from 33.9% (10 million) in 2010 to 28.8% (8.7 million) in the first 6 months of 2011.
Among adults aged 19–25, 55.8% were covered by a private plan in the first 6 months of 2011, an increase from 2010 (51.0%).
From January through June 2011, 29.1% of persons under age 65 with private health insurance at the time of interview were enrolled in a high deductible health plan (HDHP), including 8.9% who were enrolled in a consumer-directed health plan (CDHP). More than 50% of persons with a private plan obtained by means other than through employment were enrolled in an HDHP. An estimated 20.8% of persons with private health insurance were in a family with a flexible spending account (FSA) for medical expenses.

Introduction

The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention's (CDC) National Center for Health Statistics (NCHS) is releasing selected estimates of health insurance coverage for the civilian noninstitutionalized U.S. population based on data from the 2011 National Health Interview Survey (NHIS), along with comparable estimates from the 1997–2010 NHIS. Data analyses for the January–June 2011 NHIS were based on 52,043 persons in the Family Core.
Three measures of lack of health insurance coverage are provided: (a) uninsured at the time of interview, (b) uninsured at least part of the year prior to interview (which also includes persons uninsured for more than a year), and (c) uninsured for more than a year at the time of interview. Estimates of public and private coverage are also presented. This report includes estimates for adults aged 19–25 (Tables 1, 2, 3, and 7), which are of special interest because of provisions of the Affordable Care Act of 2010 (P.L. 111–148, P.L. 111–152).
For individuals with private health insurance, estimates are presented for enrollment in high deductible health plans (HDHPs), enrollment in consumer-directed health plans (CDHPs), and being in a family with a flexible spending account (FSA) for medical expenses.
This report is updated quarterly and is part of the NHIS Early Release (ER) Program, which releases updated selected estimates that are available from the NHIS website.
For more information about NHIS and the ER Program, see the "Technical Notes" and "Additional Early Release Program Products" sections of this report.

Results

Lack of health insurance coverage

From January through June 2011, the percentage of persons uninsured at the time of interview was 15.3% (46.6 million) for persons of all ages, 17.4% (46.2 million) for persons under age 65 years, 21.3% (40.8 million) for persons aged 18–64, and 7.3% (5.4 million) for children under age 18 (Tables 1 and 2). Among adults aged 19–25, 28.8% (8.7 million) lacked coverage at the time of interview in the first 6 months of 2011. Among adults aged 19–25, the percentage uninsured at the time of interview decreased from 33.9% in 2010 to 28.8% in the first 6 months of 2011.
Based on data from the January–June 2011 NHIS, a total of 60.0 million (19.7%) persons of all ages were uninsured for at least part of the year prior to interview (Tables 1 and 2). Adults aged 18–64 were more than twice as likely (26.5%) as children (11.6%) to experience this lack of coverage. Among adults aged 19–25, 38.7% had been uninsured for at least part of the past year, a decrease from 2010 (41.7%).
Data from January through June 2011 also revealed that 12.7% (33.9 million) of persons under age 65 (16.3% of adults and 3.7% of children) had been uninsured for more than a year (Tables 1 and 2). Adults aged 18–64 were more than four times as likely as children to have been uninsured for more than a year (Figure 1). Among children, the percentage that had been uninsured for more than a year decreased from 4.5% in 2010 to 3.7% in the first 6 months of 2011. Among adults aged 19–25 the percentage that had been uninsured for more than a year decreased from 24.1% in 2010 to 21.1% in the first 6 months of 2011 (Table 1).

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Products - NHIS Early Release - Health Insurance - January-June 2011