Two recently published reports, though not appearing to be linked together, actually are linked and were significantly alarming regarding the health status of Americans. The first was the report by the US Census Bureau cited in American Medical News1 that the number of uninsured Americans grew by 1.3 million in 2005, bringing the total number of uninsured for health care to a high of 46.6 million. In 2001 the number was 41.2 million. The data also show that, of the 37.8 million persons of working age who had no health insurance in 2005, 27.3 million worked at some point during that year. This highlights the well-known fact that many uninsured patients comprise the group in our society referred to as the "working poor." What is most striking is that the number of uninsured full-time workers in 2005 rose to 21.5 million, an increase of 1 million since 2004. The increase in the number of Americans joining the ranks of the uninsured is attributed in part to a diminution in employer-sponsored health insurance coverage for their workers. The US Census Bureau report found that most uninsured Americans (22.1 million) are non-Hispanic whites. Hispanics (14.1 million) comprised the second largest group.. Approximately 14.6 million persons in families earning less than Dollars 25,000 per year have no insurance.
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