Portion of insured Americans was 92% in 2023, Census data shows

By Amina Niasse

NEW YORK (Reuters) – The portion of Americans who had health insurance for all or part of the year in 2023 was 92%, compared with 92.1% for all or part of 2022 according to a report released by the Census Bureau on Tuesday.

The percentage of people covered by private insurers was 65.4%, including slight increases in enrollment in Affordable Care Act (ACA) marketplace plans and Tricare coverage for military members. Within that group, employment-based coverage fell 0.7% to 53.7% in 2023 from the year prior.

Overall, the change in health insurance coverage was not statistically different in 2023 from 2022, the Census said.

The rate of Americans who are uninsured is set to rise to 8.9% over the next decade from 7.7% in 2024, largely owing to federal policy changes and increased immigration, the Congressional Budget Office said in a separate report released in June.

Americans aged 19 to 25 had the highest rate of uninsurance at 14.1% in 2023, the Census data showed. This age group is also often ineligible for government-sponsored plans, and has lower rates of employer-funded coverage.

Medicare, or government-sponsored plans for adults 65 and older, made up 18.9% of coverage in 2023, due to an increase in people in that age group.

The uninsured rate among Hispanic adults increased slightly to 23.6% in 2023 from 23.4% in 2022, more than three times the rate for white adults.