According to the National Center for Policy Analysis, the U.S. Census Bureau revised its 2005 data on the uninsured this week, after discovering the initial data was off by 1.8 million people. The new numbers show 44.8 million people were uninsured as of 2005, and not 46.6 million as previously reported. While the error was blamed on a software glitch, experts with the National Center for Policy Analysis (NCPA) said the mistake points to bigger issues with the census data.
Census figures showing 44.8 million uninsured likely overstate the chronically uninsured. For instance, a recent Congressional Budget Office report places the actual numbers of full-year uninsured at between 21 million and 31 million.
There are many factors involved in being uninsured. For example, one-third of uninsured live in households earning more than $50,000 per year. 12 million people qualify for government programs, like SCHIP and Medicaid, but have not bothered to enroll; and an estimated 10 million are immigrants, many of whom are undocumented.
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