In the midst of continued political debate over universal health care, the U.S. Census Bureau says the number of individuals without health care insurance continued to increase in 2006.
The percentage without health insurance increased from 15.3% in 2005 to 15.8% in 2006, and the number of uninsured rose from 44.8 million to 47 million, the bureau reveals in a new report.
The number of U.S.-born residents who were uninsured increased from 33 million to 34.4 million in the period, while the uninsured rate increased from 12.8% to 13.2%.
The total of uninsured foreign-born rose from 11.8 million to 12.6 million, but their rate was statistically unchanged at 33.8% in 2006, the report shows.
Looking at ethnic differences, the bureau found that among non-Hispanic whites, the number of uninsured remained statistically unchanged in 2006 at 21.2 million or 10.8%.
For blacks, the number and percentage increased from 7 million and 19% in 2005 to 7.6 million and 20.5%. The figures for uninsured Hispanics rose from 14 million (32.3%) in 2005 to 15.3 million (34.1%).
