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Portfolio > Economy & Markets > Fixed Income

High-Income Uninsured Not So Common: EBRI

By Staff Writer

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NU Online News Service, Feb. 28, 2005, 8:22 p.m. EST

The number of high-income individuals without health insurance may not be increasing as fast as government statistics suggest.[@@]

Individuals with a family income of $50,000 a year or more account for 18% of America’s uninsured, not the 25% reported by the Census Bureau, according to researchers at the Employee Benefit Research Institute, Washington.

Just over 11 million Americans with annual family incomes of $50,000 or more were uninsured in 2003, the latest year for which relevant census figures are available.

The likelihood of being uninsured increased by 1% from 1999 to 2003 for members of families with annual incomes below $25,000, and it rose a little more than 3% for those in families with incomes of $50,000 to $74,999, according to EBRI researchers.

The likelihood also increased a little more than 3% for those with incomes of $75,000 or more, EBRI researchers report.

One reason for the higher rate of increase for higher-income individuals: Low-income individuals often qualify for publicly funded insurance programs such as Medicaid or the State Children’s Health Insurance Program, EBRI researchers point out.

Another reason: The Census Bureau definition of family income lumps together all income of all family members in the same household. That definition includes more than 3 non-student adult children living with their parents but earning under $50,000 annually, so it classifies them with the high-income group.

If those individuals were removed from the uninsured population, no more than 8 million of the nation’s 45 million uninsured would have a family income of $50,000 or more, EBRI researchers report.

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