Shifts in Health Insurance Coverage

The Census Bureau's annual report on poverty, income and health insurance "underscore[s] the lagging and uneven nature of the economic recovery since the 2001 recession," a Washington Post editorial states. Although the percentage of U.S. residents with health insurance was unchanged from 2003 to 2004, that figure "masked a shift from employer-provided insurance to government coverage," the editorial says, noting that the percentage of residents with employer-sponsored health insurance declined for the fourth consecutive year. As the rate of employer-sponsored coverage has dropped, "most of this slack has been taken up by Medicaid," according to the editorial. However, because of tight state budgets and proposed federal cuts to Medicaid, "it's not at all certain that states will be willing or able to maintain coverage for working Americans hovering at the edge of poverty," the Post states. The editorial concludes, "Lawmakers need to remember in the weeks to come that this is an economic recovery that continues to leave too many Americans behind" (Washington Post, 9/6).