Health Insurance Coverage

Today, NCHS has released a report on estimates of health insurance coverage for the civilian noninstitutionalized U.S. population based on data from the 2012 National Health Interview Survey (NHIS), along with comparable estimates from the 1997–2011 NHIS. Data analyses for the January–September 2012 NHIS were based on 80,618 persons.

• In the first 9 months of 2012, 45.3 million persons of all ages (14.7%) were uninsured at the time of interview, 57.5 million (18.6%) had been uninsured for at least part of the year prior to interview, and 33.8 million (11.0%) had been uninsured for more than a year at the time of interview.
• In the first 9 months of 2012, the percentage of children under age 18 who were uninsured at the time of interview was 6.6%.
• Among adults aged 19–25, the percentage uninsured at the time of interview was 26.3% (7.9 million) in the first 9 months of 2012.
• Among adults aged 19–25, 57% were covered by a private plan in the first 9 months of 2012.
• In the first 9 months of 2012, 31% of persons under age 65 with private health insurance at the time of interview were enrolled in a high-deductible health plan (HDHP), including 10.7% who were enrolled in a consumer-directed health plan. More than 50% of persons with a private plan obtained by means other than through employment were enrolled in an HDHP. An estimated 22% of persons with private health insurance were in a family with a flexible spending account for medical expenses.