The September 21, 2009 edition of amednews.com, the internet version of American Medical News, published by the American Medical Association, reported that the number of uninsured Americans increased by about 600,000 in 2008, despite government health programs such as Medicare and Medicaid enrolling about 1 million more people than they did the year before.

Although America’s uninsured population reached 46.3 million in 2008, according to an annual U.S. Census Bureau report released Sept. 10, the percentage of Americans who are uninsured was virtually unchanged at 15.4%.

Part-time workers and people approaching middle-age increased the uninsured numbers significantly, while there was a significant decrease in the number of children who are uninsured.

The Census report also found a continuation of a decade-long trend away from employer-sponsored coverage and toward government health programs.

The number of people in Medicare, Medicaid, the Children’s Health Insurance Program and other government plans increased by 1.2 million in 2008, boosting the public share of the insured population by more than a percentage point. Meanwhile, the number of people with private coverage dropped by 1 million to reach 201 million.

The article from amednews.com can be found here – U.S. Uninsured Total Again Tops 46 Million