According to a report by the health care consumer group Families USA, nearly 5 million New York State residents—30% of New Yorkers under the age of 65—were uninsured at some point during 2001-02, a majority of them for at least six months. The report, released by The Robert Wood Johnson Foundation as part of its kick-off for the Covered the Uninsured Week campaign (March 10-17, 2003; see Skyline News, March 10, 2003), reveals that New York's situation mirrors that in the rest of the nation, where nearly 75 million Americans, or 30% of the population under age 65, had no coverage during that time period. As in New York, a majority of U.S. residents were without health coverage for at least six months, and nearly one-fourth (24%) were uninsured throughout the two-year period.

These statistics suggest that the uninsured problem in the United States is far more widespread than is commonly thought. Unlike the frequently cited Census Bureau estimate that 41 million Americans were without health insurance throughout 2001, the Families USA report measured the number of people without coverage for all or part of a two-year period, and calculated the average length of time during which they were uninsured. These estimates, according to the authors of the report, provide a more thorough picture of how many people are directly affected by lack of health coverage.

As noted in this and many other recent reports, the vast majority of uninsured Americans live in families where the head of the household works, and most are low-income. White, non-Hispanic people are the largest category of uninsured (52%), though Hispanic and African American individuals are disproportionately represented among those without coverage.

For a full copy of the report, Going Without Health Insurance: Nearly One in Three Non-Elderly Americans, go to www.familiesusa.org.