	Introduction

In the United States, 50.7 million people, or 16.7% of the U.S. population, had no health insurance for at least some of 2009. In fact, during the past decade, the aggregate uninsurance rate was never less than 13.4%. For these and other reasons, the uninsured often have worse health outcomes than the insured. Among the most likely to be uninsured in 2009 were adults between 19 and 25, Hispanics, those living in families with incomes below 200% of the federal poverty guidelines, and those in families with relatively weak attachments to the labor force. The Data

This report uses data from the 2010 Current Population Survey (CPS) conducted by the Census Bureau of the U.S. Department of Commerce. The Annual Social and Economic Supplement (ASEC) to the CPS collects information on individual health insurance status, income, and poverty. On the other hand, young adults aged 19 to 25 were the most likely to have gone without coverage. Among people aged 65 and older, 93.5% were covered by Medicare, and less than 2% were uninsured. People in a family headed by a single mother were most likely to have public coverage (43.9%), compared with other family types, and those in a family headed by a single father, or a single man living alone, were most likely to be uninsured. In addition, administration and marketing costs are lower in larger firms than in smaller firms. Members of a family where the primary worker was employed full-time for a full year were about half as likely to be uninsured as those in families where the primary worker was employed full-time for only part of the year (13.7% versus 26.0%, respectively). Those who worked part-time, either for all of 2009 or for a part of it, were even more likely to be uninsured. Figure 1 looks at the total number of uninsured individuals and displays the percentage of uninsured individuals by citizenship status. This is because almost 75% of the total pool of the uninsured are native-born citizens, while about 20% of the total pool of the uninsured are not citizens, with the remaining 5% being naturalized citizens. Figure 1 demonstrates that noncitizens comprise the smallest citizenship group of the uninsured. The Likelihood of Being Uninsured

An individual's probability of being uninsured can be measured in two ways. For example, among those under 65, blacks were 22.5% likely to be uninsured, whereas whites were 14.0% likely to be uninsured. In other words, blacks were 8.5 percentage points more likely to be uninsured than whites. This section first compares the likelihood of not having health insurance for representative individuals who are largely identical but differ by race. All individuals compared were assumed to be 40-year-old, native-born citizens living with a spouse and children in the Northeast. On the other hand, the economic downturn may cause children and adults to become eligible for the need-based entitlement programs of Medicaid and CHIP. Turning to the data, the uninsurance rate increased during and after the relatively short recession of the early 2000s, and during the relatively longer recession of the late 2000s. In fact, the aggregate uninsurance rate of 16.7% in 2009 was the highest reported insurance rate over the interval.
Almost 51 million people, or 16.7% of the U.S. population, had no health insurance for at least some of 2009. In fact, the aggregate uninsurance rate over the past decade was never less than 13.4%. Individuals living in poorer families, young adults between ages 19 and 25, and Hispanics were especially likely to be uninsured. On the other hand, individuals over 65, who are almost always eligible for Medicare, were the least likely to be uninsured. An extensive body of research suggests that those without health insurance are more likely to face worse health outcomes than those with insurance.
This report examines the characteristics of the uninsured and those insured by private and public health insurance using data from the (March) Annual Social and Economic Supplement to the 2010 Current Population Survey (CPS). The insurance information in the 2010 CPS supplement covers calendar year 2009, the most recent year for which CPS data are available. The first part of the report compares very broad groups of individuals under age 65. Those particularly likely to be uninsured included the groups listed above, single men, children living in families headed by single men, those living in the South and West, and noncitizens. In addition, individuals living in families where the primary worker was employed by a small firm or was employed less than full-time and full-year were more likely to be uninsured than those living in a family where the primary worker was employed by a larger firm or had a full-time position for the entire year. Groups particularly likely to receive publicly funded insurance included single mothers and those in families with incomes lower than the poverty threshold.
The second section of the report compares two methods of measuring the uninsured. Using citizenship status as an example, the report analyzes uninsurance both in terms of the percentage of each citizenship status in the total pool of the uninsured (e.g., about 75% of the pool of the uninsured were native-born citizens), and in terms of the percentage of each citizenship status who were uninsured (e.g., about 16% of native born citizens were uninsured).
The third part of the report compares more narrow groups of "representative" individuals, who were largely similar but differed across a single dimension. For example, the specific effects of an individual's race and age on the likelihood of being uninsured are isolated. Among individuals who were 40 years old, native born, and lived with a spouse and children in the Northeast, those who were white were 8.1% likely to be uninsured, whereas those who were black were 10.8% likely to be uninsured. On the other hand, among all individuals, those who were white were 14% likely to be uninsured, whereas those who were black were 22.5% likely to be uninsured.
The final part of the report examines uninsurance rates over the past 10 years. The uninsurance rate increased during and after the relatively short economic recession of the early 2000s and during the relatively longer recession of the late 2000s.