The Census Bureau today released its annual report – Income, Poverty, and Health Insurance Coverage in the United States: 2009 – marking the first time since 1987 that the number of people in the U.S. with health insurance decreased.

Read the full report here.

Read Kaiser Health News’ summary of news coverage here.

Read the related KHN story: Uninsured Rate Soars, 50+ Million Americans Without Coverage

What follows are excerpts taken from the Census Bureau report regarding its key findings on health insurance coverage rates: 

— The percentage of people without health insurance increased to 16.7 percent in 2009 from 15.4 percent in 2008. The number of uninsured people increased to 50.7 million in 2009 from 46.3 million in 2008.

— The number of people with health insurance decreased to 253.6 million in 2009 from 255.1 million in 2008. This is the first year that the number of people with health insurance has decreased since 1987, the first year that comparable health insurance data were collected. The number of people covered by private health insurance decreased to 194.5 million in 2009 from 201.0 million in 2008. The number of people covered by government health insurance increased to 93.2 million in 2009 from 87.4 million in 2008.

— Between 2008 and 2009, the percentage of people covered by private health insurance decreased from 66.7 percent to 63.9 percent. The percentage of people covered by employment-based health insurance decreased to 55.8 percent in 2009, from 58.5 percent in 2008. The percentage of people covered by employment-based health insurance is the lowest since 1987, the first year that comparable health insurance data were collected. The number of people covered by employment-based health insurance decreased to 169.7 million in 2009, from 176.3 million in 2008.

— The percentage of people covered by government health insurance programs increased to 30.6 percent in 2009, from 29.0 percent in 2008. This is the highest percentage of people covered by government health insurance programs since 1987. The percentage and number of people covered by Medicaid increased to 15.7 percent or 47.8 million in 2009, from 14.1 percent or 42.6 million in 2008. The percentage and number of people covered by Medicaid is the highest since 1987. The percentage and number of people covered by Medicare in 2009 (14.3 percent and 43.4 million) were not statistically different from 2008.

Chapter 4: Health Insurance Coverage In The United States