GALLUP NEWS SERVICE
PRINCETON, NJ -- Gallup's annual survey on Health and Healthcare, conducted this past November, asked Americans to describe the type of health insurance they currently have. The Nov. 7-10, 2005, survey finds that 57% Americans say they have private health insurance, Medicare or Medicaid covers 30% of adults nationwide, and 13% do not have health insurance coverage. Two-thirds of those with private health insurance now share the costs with their employers, up significantly over the last four years. One in five 18- to 29-year olds are uninsured; those with low incomes are also less likely to be insured than those with high incomes.
Gallup has asked this question every year since 2001, and the results have shown some modest variation over this period. In 2001, 62% of Americans reported that they had private health coverage. This has decreased slightly, to 57% in the latest poll. At the same time, there has been a slight increase in the percentage of Americans saying Medicare or Medicaid covers them, up from 26% in 2001 to 30% now. The percentage of Americans reporting no health insurance coverage has been stable.
Even though the figures for those who say they have health insurance coverage have shown only modest variations in the past several years, Gallup has found more and more saying they have to share the costs of their insurance with their employers.
In Gallup's 2001 survey, 54% of adults with private health insurance said they shared the costs of insurance with their employers. That percentage has increased gradually since then, with 65% now saying they share the costs with their employers. At the same time, fewer adults with private health coverage report that their employers pay for all of their insurance costs.
Who's Got Health Insurance?
In order to better gauge health insurance coverage among different groups of Americans, Gallup combined the results of its past three surveys, conducted from November 2003, through November 2005.
Age
The vast majority of elderly Americans say they are covered by Medicare or Medicaid, while younger Americans are at least slightly more likely than those in other age groups to have no health insurance.
Among 18- to 29-year olds, 59% say they have private health insurance, 21% say they are covered by Medicare or Medicaid, and 20% report having no healthcare coverage. More than three in four adults between the ages of 30 and 64 (77% of 30- to 49-year olds and 79% of 50- to 64-year olds) are covered by private health insurance. Roughly 1 in 10 adults between the ages of 30 and 64 are covered either by Medicare or Medicaid or have no health coverage at all. Almost all adults aged 65 and older -- 97% -- are covered by Medicare or Medicaid.
Gender
Men are just slightly more likely than women to have private healthcare coverage (62% vs. 58%), while women are somewhat more likely to be covered by Medicare or Medicaid (32% vs. 25%). Roughly the same proportion of men and women say they have no health insurance.
Household Income
Coverage also varies by household income level. Half of adults living in households with annual incomes of less than $30,000 tell Gallup they are covered by Medicare or Medicaid, while 29% have private insurance and 20% have no insurance. Nearly two in three adults with household incomes between $30,000 and $74,999 per year are covered by private health insurance, while 25% are covered by Medicare or Medicaid, and 10% have no coverage. Among those with household incomes of $75,000 or more per year, 87% have private health insurance, 9% are covered by Medicare or Medicaid, and 4% have no insurance coverage.
Employment Status
Adults who are employed full-time are substantially more likely than those who are employed part-time or who are not employed at all to say they have private health insurance.
Eighty-two percent of adults who say they are employed full-time are covered by private health insurance, while 7% are covered by Medicaid or Medicare, and 11% have no insurance. This compares with 59% of adults employed part-time who have private insurance, 23% who have Medicare or Medicaid, and 19% who have no insurance. Among those who are not employed, 31% have private insurance, 58% are on Medicare or Medicaid, and 11% have no coverage at all.
Marital Status
The data also show some variations by marital status, with married adults much more likely to be covered by private insurance. Seventy-one percent of married adults are covered by private health insurance, while 22% are covered by Medicare or Medicaid, and 7% have no coverage. Fewer than half of non-married adults, 47%, have private health insurance. Thirty-seven percent of non-married adults are covered by Medicare or Medicaid and 16% report no health insurance coverage.
Survey Methods
Results are based on telephone interviews with 1,011 national adults, aged 18 and older, conducted Nov. 7-10, 2005. For results based on the total sample of national adults, one can say with 95% confidence that the maximum margin of sampling error is ±3 percentage points. In addition to sampling error, question wording and practical difficulties in conducting surveys can introduce error or bias into the findings of public opinion polls.