According to data from the U.S. Census Bureau, the rate of uninsured Americans held steady in 2010, with about 16.3 percent of Americans living without health coverage. In absolute terms, that amounts to nearly 50 million people in 2010, 13 million more than a decade earlier according to Program on Affordable Health Insurance vice president Sara Collins..
Census Bureau officials indicated the uninsurance rate actually increased slightly in 2010, but not to a statistically significant degree. Families USA health policy director Kathleen Stoll told The Nation's Health Medicaid and the Children's Health Insurance Program (CHIP) were partly responsible for holding back the rise, but also noted the statistically insignificant change would indicate up to 900,000 more people uninsured in 2010 than 2009.
The number of Americans covered by health insurance through employee benefits dropped by about 1.5 million people, while the percentage turning to government programs such as Medicare and Medicaid grew. Between 2009 and 2010, the number using private health insurance dropped by half a percent.
The drop in health insurance coverage was lower than some experts would have expected, given the national economy in general and rising poverty rates in particular. One officer of the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation attributed this partly to young adults being permitted to remain on their parents insurance, and partly to increased participation by eligible demographics in public programs, such as the CHIP.
