More Americans had health coverage in 2021, according to the latest data from the US Census Bureau released this week.
In 2021, 27.2 million Americans, or 8.3 percent of the population, had no form of health insurance. This is a decrease from 2020, when 28.3 million Americans were uninsured.
Here in New York, the uninsured rate held steady at 5.2%. A drop in private coverage during the pandemic was offset by increases in Medicare and Medicaid.
Though the number of people using public insurance increased during 2021, the majority of Americans are covered by private insurers. In 2021, 66 percent of Americans had private insurance. The most common source of private insurance was employer-based plans, followed by direct-purchase plans.