47 Million Uninsured

In a front-page article, the New York Times reports, "The nation's median household income grew modestly in 2006, the Census Bureau reported yesterday, even as the percentage of people without health insurance hit a high." Officials from the Census Bureau "attributed the rise in the uninsured -- to 47 million from 44.8 million in 2005 -- mostly to people losing employer-provided or privately purchased health insurance. The percentage of people who received health benefits through an employer declined to 59.7 percent in 2006, from 60.2 percent in 2005." In addition, "The percentage of people with government-provided health insurance...dropped, to 27 percent from 27.3 percent." The Times continues, "And the new data on the rise in the number of those uninsured prompted advocates for the poor to step up their call for Congress to reauthorize the State Children's Health Insurance Program (SCHIP), which provides subsidized insurance to children of the working poor."