Health Insurance Lacking for Full-Time, Low-Income Workers

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The rate of full-time, low-income workers without health insurance increased from 26 percent in 1996 to 34.5 percent in 2006, says a new U.S. government report.

The latest News and Numbers from the Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality also found that among full-time, low-income workers:

* The proportion of uninsured workers ages 18 to 34 increased from 30 percent to 38 percent between 1996 and 2006. Among workers ages 35 to 49, the number who were uninsured rose from 22 percent to 32 percent.

* In firms with fewer than 25 employees, the rate of uninsured workers increased from 39 percent to 50 percent. In companies with 25 to 99 employees and in those with 100 or more employees, rates of uninsured workers increased from 22 percent to 31 percent and from 11 percent to 14 percent, respectively.
* The number of non-Hispanic black workers without insurance increased from 18 percent to 27 percent, while the rate increased from 22 percent to 28 percent among white workers.
* Employees in professional services had the largest increase, from 11.5 percent to 26.4 percent.