census

Children’s Health
Insurance Coverage
The percentage and the number of
children (people under 18 years old)
without health insurance increased
between 2004 and 2005, from
10.8 percent to 11.2 percent and from
7.9 million to 8.3 million, respectively
(Table 8). The likelihood of health
insurance coverage varied among
children by poverty status, age, race,
and Hispanic origin. Children in
poverty were more likely to be uninsured
than the population of all children
in 2005—19.0 percent compared
with 11.2 percent (Figure 8). 35
Figure 8.
Uninsured Children by Poverty Status, Age, and
Race and Hispanic Origin: 2005
(Percent)
All children
Children in poverty
Under 6 years
6 to 11 years
12 to 17 years
White, not Hispanic
Age
7.2
11.2
10.8
10.2
12.6
Race 1 and Hispanic origin
19.0
Children 12 to 17 years old were
more likely to be uninsured than
those under 12 years old—12.6 percent
compared with 10.5 percent. An
estimated 21.9 percent of Hispanic
children did not have any health
insurance in 2005, compared with
7.2 percent for non-Hispanic White
children, 12.5 percent for Black children,
and 12.2 percent for Asian children.
36 In 2005, the percentage of
non-Hispanic White children covered
by Medicaid was 18.0 percent; for
Black children, 44.9 percent; for Asian
children, 15.9 percent; and for
Hispanic children, 39.3 percent. 37
Black
12.5
Asian
Hispanic origin (any race)
12.2
21.9
1 Federal surveys now give respondents the option of reporting more than one race. Therefore,
two basic ways of defining a race group are possible. A group such as Asian may be defined as
those who reported Asian and no other race (the race-alone or single-race concept) or as those
who reported Asian regardless of whether they also reported another race (the race-aloneor-in-combination
concept). This figure shows data using the first approach (race alone). The
use of the single-race population does not imply that it is the preferred method of presenting or
analyzing data. The Census Bureau uses a variety of approaches. Information on people who
reported more than one race, such as White and American Indian and Alaska Native or Asian and
Black or African American, is available from Census 2000 through American FactFinder. About
2.6 percent of people reported more than one race in Census 2000.
Note: For discussion of statistically significant differences between groups, see text.
Source: U.S. Census Bureau, Current Population Survey, 2006 Annual Social and Economic
Supplement.
35
The uninsured rate for children under 6
years old was not statistically different from the
uninsured rate for children 6 to 11 years old in
2005.
36
The uninsured rates for Black children and
Asian children were not statistically different
from each other in 2005.
37
The percentage of non-Hispanic White children
covered by Medicaid was not statistically
different from the percentage of Asian children
covered by Medicaid.
U.S. Census Bureau Income, Poverty, and Health Insurance Coverage in the United States: 2005 25