The U.S. Census Bureau released new statistics on the number of uninsured Americans in its annual report on September 10, sparking discussion of what the statistics mean and some surprising information about the incomes of the uninsured.
The Census Bureau found an estimated 46.3 million Americans lacked health insurance in 2008, according to findings from the Current Population Survey (CPS). The proportion of Americans who lack health insurance grew by one-tenth of a percentage point, to 15.4 percent in 2008, up from 15.3 percent in 2007. According to the report, the uninsured rate has remained virtually unchanged for the past 15 years, hovering around 15 percent.