Nearly 17 Percent Of Americans Lack Health Insurance: Index

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The percentage of Americans without health insurance increased from 13.9 percent in September 2008 to 16.6 percent last month, according to the latest Gallup-Healthways Well-Being Index figures.

In January 2008, the index started asked Americans aged 18 and older about their health insurance coverage on a daily basis, conducting about 30,000 interviews a month. The average percentage of uninsured in the first six months of 2009 was 16.2 percent, compared with the 2008 average of 14.8 percent.

The largest increases in the percentage of uninsured Americans occurred in the third and fourth quarters of 2008, coinciding with the onset of the financial crisis. Further increases occurred in the first three quarters of 2009, with percentages holding steady between 16.1 percent and 16.3 percent.