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.
NCHStats 