Census says 92% of people had health insurance for some or all of 2024
The Census Bureau said 8.0% of people were uninsured for the full year, while employer coverage remained the largest insurance type.
The Census Bureau said 8.0% of people were uninsured for the full year, while employer coverage remained the largest insurance type.
The U.S. Census Bureau reported that 92.0% of people, or about 310 million people, had health insurance for some or all of 2024, according to a report published Sept. 9.
The bureau said 8.0% of people were uninsured for the entire calendar year. The figures come from the 2025 Current Population Survey Annual Social and Economic Supplement, a federal survey used to track income, poverty and health insurance coverage.
Private insurance remained more common than public coverage, with 66.1% of people having private coverage and 35.5% having public coverage for some or all of the year, the Census Bureau said.
Employment-based insurance was the largest subtype of coverage in 2024, covering 53.8% of the population for some or all of the year, according to the bureau.
Direct-purchase coverage rose by 0.5 percentage points to 10.7% in 2024, the report said. Direct-purchase coverage includes plans bought directly by individuals, rather than obtained through an employer or public program.
Medicaid coverage decreased to 17.6% in 2024, down from 18.9% in 2023, the Census Bureau said.
The report breaks coverage into private and public insurance categories. Private coverage includes employer-based insurance and direct-purchase plans. Public coverage includes government programs such as Medicaid, as classified in the Census report.
The bureau also reported age-group shifts. For children under 19 and adults ages 19 to 64, private coverage rates increased in 2024, while public coverage rates decreased for both groups.
The Census Bureau’s estimates count people who had coverage for some or all of the calendar year separately from people who were uninsured for the entire year. That means the 92.0% insured figure includes people who may not have had continuous coverage for all 12 months.
In its report, the Census Bureau said health insurance coverage remained broad in 2024, with private coverage more common than public coverage. The bureau identified employment-based coverage as the most common insurance subtype.
The report also said Medicaid coverage declined from 2023 to 2024, while direct-purchase coverage increased.
The 2024 coverage estimates now serve as the latest national baseline from the Current Population Survey. Future Census releases will show whether the shifts in Medicaid, direct-purchase coverage and private insurance continued after 2024.
Editorial note: This article was prepared with AI assistance and requires editorial review before publication.
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