Health Insurance Coverage: Early Release of Estimates From the National Health Interview Survey, January–September 2018

Questions for Emily P. Terlizzi, M.P.H., Health Statistician and Lead Author on “Health Insurance Coverage: Early Release of Estimates From the National Health Interview Survey, January–September 2018”

Q: How did the uninsured vary by age groups in this report?

ET: In the first 9 months of 2018, 9.2% of persons of all ages, 10.8% of persons under age 65, 4.9% of children, and 13% of adults aged 18-64 lacked health insurance at the time of interview.

Q: How did the uninsured vary by race in this report?

ET: In the first 9 months of 2018, 26.3% of Hispanic, 14.7% of non-Hispanic black, 8.8% of non-Hispanic white, and 8.2% of non-Hispanic Asian adults aged 18–64 lacked health insurance coverage at the time of interview.

Q: How did the uninsured vary by regions in the United States?

ET: In the first 9 months of 2018, 7.3% of adults aged 18-64 living in the Northeast, 11% of those living in the Midwest, 18.1% of those living in the South, and 11.2% of those living in the West lacked health insurance coverage at the time of interview.

Q: What is the take home message for this report?

ET: I think the take-home message from this report is found in the number of Americans who no longer lack health insurance. In the first 9 months of 2018, 29.7 million (9.2%) persons of all ages were uninsured at the time of interview. This estimate is not significantly different from 2017, but there are 18.9 million fewer uninsured persons than in 2010.