The CDC reported 9 million more uninsured than an earlier Census Bureau estimate and found that 40 percent of the uninsured have chronic diseases, according to a report by Reuters.
The CDC estimates there were 59.1 million uninsured Americans while the Census Bureau estimated 50.7 million uninsured in a report released on Sept. 16. The CDC used a different database, the National Health Interview Survey, and included the first quarter of 2010, while the Census Bureau covered 2009. Also, the CDC measured individuals who were uninsured "at some point during the past year."
However, both agencies' estimates of the increase of uninsured since 2008 were quite similar, with the CDC reporting a 4 million increase and the Census Bureau reporting a 4.4 million increase.
The CDC said more than two out of five of the uninsured had one or more chronic diseases, based on just a partial list of chronic diseases. For example, 15 million of the uninsured had high blood pressure, diabetes or asthma.
In a press conference, CDC Director Thomas R. Frieden, MD, also noted that half of the uninsured are over the poverty level and the uninsured include one in three adults under 65 who earn $44,000-$65,000 a year for a family of four.
The healthcare reform law is expected to cover 32 million more Americans by 2014, half through expanded Medicaid programs. That would leave 27 million uninsured, based on the CDC's current estimate. Many non-citizens would continue to be uninsured under the law.
Read the Reuters report on the uninsured.
Read more coverage on the uninsured.
- Numbers of Insured Americans Falls for First Time in at Least 23 Years
- Insured Americans Just as Likely to Visit ED as Uninsured
- Amount Hospitals Charged Uninsured Patients Rose 88% From 1998-2007
- Hospital Strategies for Managing the Uninsured: Q & A With James Parish of RWD Technologies
The CDC estimates there were 59.1 million uninsured Americans while the Census Bureau estimated 50.7 million uninsured in a report released on Sept. 16. The CDC used a different database, the National Health Interview Survey, and included the first quarter of 2010, while the Census Bureau covered 2009. Also, the CDC measured individuals who were uninsured "at some point during the past year."
However, both agencies' estimates of the increase of uninsured since 2008 were quite similar, with the CDC reporting a 4 million increase and the Census Bureau reporting a 4.4 million increase.
The CDC said more than two out of five of the uninsured had one or more chronic diseases, based on just a partial list of chronic diseases. For example, 15 million of the uninsured had high blood pressure, diabetes or asthma.
In a press conference, CDC Director Thomas R. Frieden, MD, also noted that half of the uninsured are over the poverty level and the uninsured include one in three adults under 65 who earn $44,000-$65,000 a year for a family of four.
The healthcare reform law is expected to cover 32 million more Americans by 2014, half through expanded Medicaid programs. That would leave 27 million uninsured, based on the CDC's current estimate. Many non-citizens would continue to be uninsured under the law.
Read the Reuters report on the uninsured.
Read more coverage on the uninsured.
- Numbers of Insured Americans Falls for First Time in at Least 23 Years
- Insured Americans Just as Likely to Visit ED as Uninsured
- Amount Hospitals Charged Uninsured Patients Rose 88% From 1998-2007
- Hospital Strategies for Managing the Uninsured: Q & A With James Parish of RWD Technologies