CDC: No change in percentage of uninsured in U.S. from '16 to '17

(HealthDay)—The percentage of uninsured U.S. persons of all ages did not change significantly from 2016 to the first nine months of 2017, according to a report published online Feb. 22 by the National Center for Health Statistics.

Michael E. Martinez, M.P.H., from the National Center for Health Statistics in Hyattsville, Md., and colleagues used data from the 2017 National Health Interview Survey to update health insurance estimates.

The researchers found that 9.0 percent of persons of all ages were uninsured in the first nine months of 2017, which was not significantly different from 2016; however, 19.7 million fewer persons were uninsured in 2017 than in 2010. Among adults aged 18 to 64 years, 12.7 percent were uninsured in the first nine months of 2017, and 19.5 and 69.3 percent had public coverage and private health insurance coverage, respectively; 4.4 percent covered with private health insurance plans were covered by plans obtained through the Health Insurance Marketplace or state-based exchanges. Among children aged 0 to 17 years, in the first nine months of 2017, 4.9, 41.9, and 54.6 percent were uninsured, had public coverage, and private health insurance coverage, respectively.

"The percentage of persons under age 65 with private health insurance enrolled in a high-deductible health plan increased, from 39.4 percent in 2016 to 43.2 percent in the first nine months of 2017," the authors write.