A Report from Familes USA, March 2009
Americans at Risk:
One in Three Uninsured
A Closer Look at the Numbers: Communities of Color at Greater Risk
People of color were more likely to lack health coverage.
- Almost half (45.8 percent) of people of color under the age of 65 went without health coverage for some or all of the two-year period 2007-2008.
- The numbers were even more alarming when broken down by race and ethnicity: More than half of Hispanics/Latinos (55.1 percent), two out of five African Americans (40.3 percent), and one-third of other racial and ethnic minorities (34 percent) were uninsured, compared with one-quarter of whites (25.8 percent).
People of color were uninsured for significant periods of time.
- More than 80 percent of Hispanics were uninsured for six months or more.
- Taken together, more than three-quarters of people of color (76.5 percent) were uninsured for six months or more.
Income matters—but so do race and ethnicity.
- Not surprisingly, individuals with lower incomes are more likely to be uninsured. This is true for all racial and ethnic groups.
- However, disparities in coverage persist—even as income increases. For example, families earning more than $84,800 annually were more likely to be uninsured if they were racial and ethnic minorities. At this income level, almost one-third of Hispanics (32 percent), nearly one-fourth of African-Americans (23.6 percent), and one-fifth of other racial and ethnic minorities (20.8 percent) lacked coverage, compared with 16 percent of whites.
Source: Families USA, unpublished data.
March 2009
