The percent of uninsured Americans declined slightly in 2011, a new survey from the National Center for Health Statistics finds. In 2011, 15.1 percent of Americans, or 46.7 million in total, were uninsured, down from 16 percent in 2010. Roughly 58.7 million Americans, or 19.2 percent, were uninsured at some point in 2011, and 11.2 percent reported they had been uninsured for more than a year. Adults between the ages of 19 and 25 saw a significant decline in the ranks of the uninsured, from 33.9 percent in 2010 to 27.9 percent in 2011. Among that same age group, there was a 5.2 percent increase in the number covered by a private plan in 2011.
Among the other findings:
- By state, the percent of uninsured residents ranged from 3.9 percent in Massachusetts to 22.6 percent in Nevada.
- Seven percent of children under the age of 18 were uninsured.
- Twenty-nine percent of Americans under 65 with private insurance were enrolled in a high-deductible health plan; half of all Americans with private insurance obtained by means other than employment were enrolled in such a plan.
- Roughly 9.2 percent of insured Americans had a consumer-directed health plan, while 21.4 percent of the insured group were in a family with a flexible spending account.
