In 2011, 48.6 million men, women and children — 15.7 percent of the population — had no health benefits. That’s down from 50 million uninsured, or 16.3 percent of the population, in 2010.
By the same estimates, Utah looks to be headed in the opposite direction. Last year, the new figures indicate, 411,926 Utahns had no coverage, compared to 380,921 in 2010.
Behind the national numbers are three key trends, said David Johnson, chief of the U.S. Census Bureau’s division of Housing and Household Economic Statistics.
- For the first time in a decade, there was no decline in the ranks of privately insured.
- Young adults, ages 19 to 26, saw the biggest jump in coverage, up 2.2 percent. Forty percent of them were able to stay on their parents’ health plans, an early provision of federal health reform, Johnson said.
- More retirees qualified for Medicare and more low-income citizens enrolled in Medicaid.
