CDC Report Finds Drop in Rate of Uninsured Young U.S. Residents
The number of uninsured young U.S. adults dropped by one-sixth in 2011, compared with the uninsured rate for the group in 2010, according to a CDC report that is scheduled to be released Monday, the New York Times reports.
Report Details
For the report, Matthew Broaddus of the Center on Budget and Policy Priorities and colleagues looked at data on 35,000 households gathered through the National Health Interview Survey.
The researchers found that the uninsured rate for the demographic -- individuals age 19 to 25 -- fell from 33.9% in 2010 to 27.9% in 2011 and noted that the drop was the largest annual decline in the uninsured rate for the group recorded by CDC since the agency began gathering such data in 2007.
Broaddus attributed the increase in the insured rate to a provision in the Affordable Care Act that allows children to remain on their parents' health insurance policies until age 26. He said that an increase in the number of uninsured adults age 26 to 35 over the same yearlong period was further proof of the benefit of the ACA provision.
The decline in the young adult uninsured rate also contributed to an overall drop in the number of uninsured U.S. residents, from 16% in 2010 to 15.1% in 2011.
Findings From Separate Study
According to the Times, the CDC report mirrors the findings of a June study by the National Bureau of Economic Research, which found that young adults were one-third more likely to be covered under their parents' policies since the ACA provision took effect.
The CDC report's release precedes the U.S. Census Bureau's annual report on changes in health coverage for the nation (Tavernise, New York Times, 9/10). This is part of the California Healthline Daily Edition, a summary of health policy coverage from major news organizations. Sign up for an email subscription.