The Economic Downturn and Changes in Health Insurance Coverage, 2000-2003

This report shows that number of uninsured Americans under age 65 increased by 5.1 million between 2000-2003 largely driven by continuing declines in employer sponsored insurance. For children, this decline was more than offset by increases in enrollment in Medicaid and the State Children’s Health Insurance Program (SCHIP), resulting in a decrease in the number of children without coverage. The same growth in public coverage did not occur for adults, and as a result all of the increase in the number of uninsured was among adults.

Executive Summary (.pdf)

Report (.pdf)