33 Million Persons of All Ages Uninsured in 2019

In 2019, 33.0 million (10.2 percent) persons of all ages were uninsured, according to a study published online June 29 in the National Health Statistics Reports, a publication from the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

Robin A. Cohen, Ph.D., from the National Center for Health Statistics in Hyattsville, Maryland., and colleagues used data from the 2019 National Health Interview Survey to estimate health insurance coverage overall and by selected sociodemographic characteristics.

The researchers found that at the time of the interview, 33.0 million (10.2 percent) persons of all ages were uninsured in 2019, including 32.5 million (12.0 percent) persons under age 65 years. Overall, 3.7 million (5.1 percent) children and 28.8 million (14.5 percent) working-age adults (aged 18 to 64 years) were uninsured. For those under age 65 years, 64.3 percent were covered by private health insurance, including 56.5 and 6.5 percent with employment-based coverage and directly purchased coverage, respectively. Two in five children and one in five adults among those age under 65 were covered by public health coverage, mainly Medicaid and the Children's Health Insurance Program. There was variation observed in the proportion of adults aged 65 years and older covered by private health insurance, Medicare Advantage, and traditional Medicare only by age, income level, education level, and race and Hispanic origin.

"Although the majority of persons under age 65 have private health insurance either through employer-sponsored group health insurance or some other source, 12.0 percent of persons under age 65 lacked any type of health insurance at the time of the interview during 2019," the authors write.