Washington, U.S.A. — The U.S. Census Bureau has released 2010 estimates of health insurance coverage for each of the nation’s roughly 3,140 counties. Small Area Health Insurance Estimates (SAHIE) are the only source for single-year estimates of health insurance coverage status for every county in the nation.

These estimates are available by sex, age groups, race and Hispanic origin (for states only), and income-to-poverty ratios. As in past years, the estimates pertain to those younger than 65 as a whole. However, for the first time, there are estimates of coverage at the county level for those in the 50 to 64 age group.

By 2014, changes to the law will extend certain Medicaid benefits to uninsured people falling into specific income groups, and SAHIE estimates will permit users to track the impact of the law on small counties. The estimates also enable local planners to determine, for instance, the counties in which low-income children are most likely to lack health insurance. The mapping tools available on the SAHIE website can also show regional trends in coverage, displaying for instance, that small counties with a high range of uninsured children are mostly in Texas, Nevada and Montana, and small counties with a low range of uninsured are mostly in the Northeast and Midwest.

The new inclusion of the 50 to 64 age category allows tracking of the insurance status of this population, which is more likely to consume health care compared with younger age groups. Knowing the number of uninsured at this older age group allows planners and health care officials to better prepare for the health care needs of this population.

SAHIE is partially funded by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) and others in the health care field. The CDC uses these statistics in support of its National Breast and Cervical Cancer Early Detection Program, providing free cancer screenings to low-income, uninsured women.

“We use SAHIE data to more effectively gauge the level of need for breast and cervical cancer screening in various geographic jurisdictions across the country,” said Marcus Plescia, director of the CDC’s Division of Cancer Prevention and Control in Atlanta. “The information provided by SAHIE data is important to us in program planning and management, targeting and resource allocation decisions and evaluation.”

The estimates are based on statistical models combining data from a variety of sources, including the American Community Survey (ACS), Census Bureau population estimates, administrative records (such as aggregated federal tax returns and Medicaid participation records) and 2000 Census statistics.

At present, SAHIE is the only source of health insurance estimates for all counties. There are no county estimates derived from the Current Population Survey. In September, the Census Bureau will release health insurance coverage estimates for counties with a population of 65,000 or more from the 2011 ACS. The following month, similar estimates will be released for counties with a population of 20,000 or more from the 2009-2011 ACS. Starting next year, the five-year estimates from ACS will include statistics on health insurance coverage for all areas, regardless of size.

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Washington, U.S.A. — About 56.7 million people (19 percent of the population) had a disability in 2010, according to a broad definition of disability, with more than half of them reporting the disability was severe, according to a comprehensive report on this population released today by the U.S. Census Bureau.

The report, Americans with Disabilities: 2010, presents estimates of disability status and type and is the first such report with analysis since the Census Bureau published statistics in a similar report about the 2005 population of people with disabilities. According to the report, the total number of people with a disability increased by 2.2 million over the period, but the percentage remained statistically unchanged. Both the number and percentage with a severe disability rose, however. Likewise, the number and percentage needing assistance also both increased.

“This week, we observe the 22nd anniversary of the Americans With Disabilities Act, a milestone law that guarantees equal opportunity for people with disabilities,” said Census Bureau demographer Matthew Brault. “On this important anniversary, this report presents a barometer of the well-being of this population in areas such as employment, income and poverty status.”

The statistics come from the Survey of Income and Program Participation, which contains supplemental questions on whether respondents had difficulty performing a specific set of functional and participatory activities. For many activities, if a respondent reported difficulty, a follow-up question was asked to determine the severity of the limitation, hence, the distinction between a “severe” and “nonsevere” disability. The data were collected from May through August 2010. Disability statistics from this survey are used by agencies — such as the Social Security Administration, Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services, and the Administration on Aging — to assist with program planning and management.

The report shows that 41 percent of those age 21 to 64 with any disability were employed, compared with 79 percent of those with no disability. Along with the lower likelihood of having a job came the higher likelihood of experiencing persistent poverty; that is, continuous poverty over a 24-month period. Among people age 15 to 64 with severe disabilities, 10.8 percent experienced persistent poverty; the same was true for 4.9 percent of those with a nonsevere disability and 3.8 percent of those with no disability.

Other highlights:

• People in the oldest age group ─ 80 and older ─ were about eight times more likely to have a disability as those in the youngest group ─ younger than 15 (71 percent compared with 8 percent). The probability of having a severe disability is only one in 20 for those 15 to 24 while it is one in four for those 65 to 69.
• About 8.1 million people had difficulty seeing, including 2.0 million who were blind or unable to see.
• About 7.6 million people experienced difficulty hearing, including 1.1 million whose difficulty was severe. About 5.6 million used a hearing aid.
• Roughly 30.6 million had difficulty walking or climbing stairs, or used a wheelchair, cane, crutches or walker.
• About 19.9 million people had difficulty lifting and grasping. This includes, for instance, trouble lifting an object like a bag of groceries, or grasping a glass or a pencil.
• Difficulty with at least one activity of daily living was cited by 9.4 million noninstitutionalized adults. These activities included getting around inside the home, bathing, dressing and eating. Of these people, 5 million needed the assistance of others to perform such an activity.
• About 15.5 million adults had difficulties with one or more instrumental activities of daily living. These activities included doing housework, using the phone and preparing meals. Of these, nearly 12 million required assistance.
• Approximately 2.4 million had Alzheimer’s disease, senility or dementia.
• Being frequently depressed or anxious such that it interfered with ordinary activities was reported by 7.0 million adults.
• Adults age 21 to 64 with disabilities had median monthly earnings of $1,961 compared with $2,724for those with no disability.
• Overall, the uninsured rates for adults 15 to 64 were not statistically different by disability status: 21.0 percent for people with severe disabilities, 21.3 percent for those with nonsevere disabilities and 21.9 percent for those with no disability.

In addition to the statistics from this report, the Census Bureau also produces annual disability estimates from the American Community Survey (ACS). While the ACS uses a different definition of disability than in this report, it is capable of producing estimates of the population with disabilities at subnational geographies like states, counties, places and metropolitan areas. The Census Bureau has been collecting data about certain disabilities since 1830, when Congress added questions to the census on difficulty hearing, seeing and speaking.

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