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August 26, 2004 at 08:00 PM
About 33% of the U.S. residents who lacked health coverage in 2003 had annual household incomes over $50,000 per year.[@@]
The U.S. Census Bureau published figures supporting that conclusion today in a batch of social and economic survey results.
Although low-income U.S. residents were more likely than high-income U.S. residents to lack health coverage, the number of high-income, uninsured residents grew faster.
The number of people with annual household incomes over $50,000 who were uninsured increased to 14.8 million, up 4.6% from the total for the year before. The number increased 2.5% for people with annual household incomes under $25,000.
Expansion of government insurance programs held the overall uninsured rate to 15.6% in 2003, up from 15.2% a year earlier, but the percentage of people with individual or employer-sponsored private coverage fell to 68.6%, from 69.6%.
The Commonwealth Fund, New York, a health care think tank, has responded to the census data by pointing out that 57% of the Americans who participated in its spring health insurance survey said presidential and congressional candidates’ views on health reform would be a very important factor when they cast their votes this November.
