High-income uninsured market shrinks

High-income uninsured people may have been more likely to gain health coverage from employer plans in 2014 than from issuers of individual health coverage.

New health insurance tables from the Census Bureau show that the total number of uninsured U.S. residents with household income over $75,000 fell to 7.5 million in 2014, down 19 percent from 9.3 million in 2013.

The percentage of high-income people who were uninsured, and might be good prospects for individual health coverage and other personal protection products, fell to 5.3 percent from 7.1 percent.

The uninsured rate for all U.S. residents fell to 10.6 percent, from 13.4 percent, over that same period.

See also: High-income Americans get covered

The number of high-income people who had individual health coverage increased to 15 million, from 14 million, but “direct purchase” policy issuers’ share of the high-income market held steady at about 11 percent.

The number of high-income people who had employer-sponsored coverage rose to 112 million, from 101 million, and the percentage of high-income people with employment-based coverage increased to 79 percent from 77 percent.