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

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

Q; How did the uninsured vary by age groups and compare to last year in this report?

ET: In 2018, 9.4% of persons of all ages, 11.1% of persons under age 65, 5.2% of children, and 13.3% of adults aged 18-64 lacked health insurance at the time of interview. In 2017, 9.1% of persons of all ages, 10.7% of persons under age 65, 5.0% of children, and 12.8% of adults aged 18-64 lacked health insurance at the time of interview. However, between 2017 and 2018, none of these differences by age group were significantly different.

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

ET: In 2018, 7.7% of adults aged 18-64 living in the Northeast, 11.1% of those living in the Midwest, 18.4% of those living in the South, and 11.6% of those living in the West lacked health insurance coverage at the time of interview.

Q: Has there been an increase in the percentage of persons with private coverage enrolled in high deductible health plans?

ET: In 2018, almost 45.8% of persons under age 65 with private coverage were enrolled in a high-deductible health plan (HDHP). The percentage of persons enrolled in a HDHP has increased 20.5 percentage point since 2010.

Q: What is new in this report?

ET: This report provides health insurance estimates for the United States and 17 selected states using a full year of 2018 National Health Interview Survey data. Among adults aged 18–64 the percentage who were uninsured ranged from 4.9% in Massachusetts to 25.0% in Texas.

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

ET: The take-home message from this report is found in the number of Americans who no longer lack health insurance. In 2018, 30.4 million (9.4%) persons of all ages were uninsured at the time of interview. This estimate is not significantly different from the 29.3 million (9.1%) in 2017, but there are 18.2 million fewer uninsured persons than in 2010.