Number of Medicaid Recipients Up: CPS Shows the Number of Uninsured Also Rises

The number of persons with no health insurance coverage rose by 4% between 1989 and 1990, while the number with insurance rose less than 1%. The increase in insurance coverage was due primarily to increases in Medicaid coverage for children under 15. In addition, Medicare coverage extended to an additional 800,000 persons during the year, representing an increase in the elderly population, but also a 7% increase in the number of persons with disabilities receiving Medicare coverage. The number of persons with employer-sponsored insurance fell by 1.4 million, approximately equal to the increase in the number of uninsured. The uninsured received about $60 billion in health care from public and private programs in 1990. (ASPE Research Notes, Volume 2) [5 PDF pages]