Public Coverage Is Up, Private Coverage Is Down — Yet Likely Not for Long

  • Sep 16, 2022

    The uninsured rate dipped slightly between 2020 and 2021, and while private insurance continued to be the most common type of coverage, it decreased in prevalence while government coverage increased, according to new data from the U.S. Census Bureau. One Wall Street analyst suggests that the findings are unsurprising given the current policy and demographic landscape, but he notes that trends are poised to change considerably when millions cease to qualify for Medicaid. 

    The Census Bureau’s survey, conducted between February and April, asked individuals whether they had any type of health coverage in the past calendar year. In 2021, 8.3% of the U.S. population lacked health insurance, compared to 8.6% in 2020. Put another way, 27.2 million Americans did not have coverage last year, down from 28.3 million the year prior. The 2021 uninsured rate of 8.3% represented a small uptick compared to 2019, however, when it reached a low of 8.0%.  

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  • Leslie Small

    Leslie has been working in journalism since 2009 and reporting on the health care industry since 2014. She has covered the many ups and downs of the Affordable Care Act exchanges, the failed health insurer mega-mergers, and hundreds of other storylines spanning subjects such as Medicaid managed care, Medicare Advantage, employer-sponsored insurance, and prescription drug coverage. As the managing editor of Health Plan Weekly and Radar on Drug Benefits, she writes and edits for both publications while overseeing a small team of reporters who also focus on the managed care sector. Before joining AIS Health, she was a senior editor for the e-newsletter Fierce Health Payer, and she started her career as a copy editor at multiple local newspapers. She graduated with a dual degree in journalism and political science from Penn State University.

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