A shifting picture of health insurance coverage

Data from the Current Population Survey are used in this DataWatch to explore the changing composition of health insurance coverage of the U.S. nonelderly population. The authors analyze coverage trends across various subpopulations for 1988-1993. During this time significant declines in employer-sponsored coverage coincided with equally significant increases in Medicaid coverage. Thus, the increase in the proportion of nonelderly persons without health insurance appears relatively small. However, this analysis reveals that the relative stability of the uninsurance rate for the entire nonelderly population belies more significant changes in insurance coverage--and lack of coverage--among various groups. The authors also discuss the extent to which a growing level of public insurance "crowds out" (or substitutes for) private health insurance.