AHRQ releases uninsured stats

Approximately 5 million adults ages 19 to 23 in the United States had no health insurance in 2006 for the entire year, and 30% of them said they didn’t think it was worth the cost, according to News and Numbers from the Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality (AHRQ).

The AHRQ report also shows that in 2006, young adults ages 19 to 23 were almost twice as likely to be uninsured all year as all adults ages 45 to 64 (24.1% vs. 13.3%).

“Even though most health insurance is employment related, having a job does not guarantee health insurance,” adds Karen Beauregard, deputy director survey operations, AHRQ Center for Financing, Access, and Cost Trends. “Seventy-two percent of young adults uninsured all year either worked full or part time.”

Many young adults alternate between being insured and uninsured over the course of a year-9.4 million were uninsured for at least a month in 2006, while 4.9 million were uninsured for the entire year, according to AHRQ.

Other findings include:
• More than two-thirds of young adults without insurance for the entire year did not see a doctor.
• Young men were more likely than young women to be uninsured all year (30% vs. 18%).