Health Insurance Statistics

16.02.2024
Milena

The health insurance industry remains an essential part of the US economy. It employs millions of workers and helps consumers deal with the soaring healthcare costs in the country. And yet, the latest health insurance statistics show that over 30 million Americans have no coverage.

If you want to learn the most shocking and relevant stats on health coverage in the US, keep reading. Below, we will cover essential topics about the US health insurance market, including average premiums, industry trends, and interesting facts.

Health Insurance Statistics (Editor’s Choice)

  • UnitedHealth Group holds the largest American health insurance market share.
  • The average annual premiums for family and single coverage are $7,188 and $20,576.
  • Employers cover about 70% of the US health insurance of workers.
  • Alaska is the US state with the highest average employer contribution of $16,967 a year.
  • About 65.3% of Americans under 65 have some type of private health insurance.
  • Healthcare.gov health insurance issuers on average deny 18% of all claims.

General Health Insurance Facts & Stats

1. UnitedHealth Group holds the largest USA health insurance market share.

This company was responsible for 14.1% of the overall business in the sector, as suggested by Statista’s health insurance industry overview. Next on the list of top-three providers are Anthem and Humana. Their market shares in 2018 were 9.2% and 7.8%, respectively. Other notable brands in the health insurance industry include HealthCare Services Corporation (5.3%), Centene Corporation (4.9%), and CVS Health Corporation (3%).

(Statista)

2. The number of health insurance home-office employees in the US is over half a million.

As of 2019, there are 573,300 individuals working as home-office personnel in the health insurance industry. According to the health insurance industry employment statistics, this figure has been on the rise continuously for the past 10 years. In 2016, for example, the sector employed 428,200 home-based professionals. 

(Statista)

3. In 2020, the total direct written premiums totaled $824.7 billion.

This amount noted a year-over-year increase of 8.3%. The net earned premiums were $816.2 billion or 11% higher than those recorded in 2019. Net investment income and underwriting gain reached nearly $5 billion and $33 billion, respectively. The total hospital and medical expenses hit $674.4 billion. Per the health insurance profits statistics, the profit margin was 3.8% or 0.8% higher than in 2019. Finally, the total number of enrolled individuals counted 240 million.

(NAIC)

4. The average annual coverage for employees is over $7,000.

The average single-employee coverage in 2019 was $7,188 per year. Preferred provider organization (PPO) plans recorded the highest annual coverage of $7,675, while the high-deductible health plans (HDHP) had the lowest average of $6,412. Health insurance facts show that the situation was similar among the average yearly family insurance. Namely, the PPO was $21,693, whereas the HDHP was $18,980. The average monthly private health insurance premiums for single and family coverages were $599 and $1,715, respectively.

(Kaiser Family Foundation)

5. Most workers in the US work in a firm with average coverage between $6,000-$6,999.

About 26% of all employees belong in this group, show the health insurance coverage statistics. Approximately 21% and 17% of employees work in firms where the annual average premiums are $5,000-5,999 and $7,000-7,999, respectively.

Only 2% are employed in a company with an average coverage of up to $3,999 per year. The distribution of workers in businesses with average single coverage of $4,000-4,999 and $8,000-8,999 is 6% and 14%. Finally, only 6%, 4%, and 3% of employees are in companies with average premiums of $9,000-9,999, $10,000-10,999, and $11,000 or more.

(Kaiser Family Foundation)

6. The cost of private health insurance in the US has been on the rise ever since 1999.

In 1999, the average premiums for single coverage were only $2,196 per year, according to US health insurance statistics. The average premiums for family coverage, on the other hand, were significantly lower at $5,791. Both types of premiums just kept rising over the years only to reach the current figures. In 2010, just for comparison, the respective single and family average annual coverages were $5,049 and $13,770.

(Kaiser Family Foundation)

7. More than half of all American companies offer health benefits to their employees.

About 57% of the companies offer this option, which is less than the 68% and 69% recorded in 2000 and 2010. Approximately 99% of all large firms and 56% of all small firms provide health coverage to employees. The lowest share of businesses with health benefits of 47% is seen among companies with 3-9 workers, according to health insurance data.

(Kaiser Family Foundation)

8. Less than 30% of American firms offer health benefits to part-time workers.

Only 28% of all firms give such benefits. Large enterprises with 5,000 or more employees note the highest share (62%) of providing health coverage to part-time professionals. Only 28% of companies with 3-24 employees and 26% of businesses with 25-199 workers offer the same. Part-time workers get benefits at 31% and 43% of companies that employ 200-999 and 1,000-4,999 people, respectively.

(Kaiser Family Foundation)

9. In 2019, 80% of all workers in firms offering coverage were eligible for health benefits.

Still, the more shocking facts about health insurance show that among those, only 61% were covered. In small firms, about 82% were eligible, and 60% got health benefits. As for large companies, approximately 79% qualified for health coverage, but only 61% got it. During the period between 1999-2019, the situation has been virtually the same with only slight changes in both eligibility and coverage rates.

(Kaiser Family Foundation)

10. Three-thirds of companies that offer health benefits provide only one plan type.

While 75% offer only one plan type, about 21% have two different plays workers can choose from. Only 4% of the firms that provide health coverage have three or more plans on the offer. Large companies with 5,000 or more employees are the most likely to offer different health insurance plans. Health insurance statistics show that among all covered employees, 36% work in a company with a single plan. 44% and 20% meanwhile work in firms that offer two and three or more coverage plans.

(Kaiser Family Foundation)

11. Employers cover the largest share of worker health insurance premiums.

In 2019, the average share of family premiums covered by workers was about 30%. The average share of single coverage paid by employees was even lower at 18%. The situation has been similar over the past 20 years. 

The United States health insurance statistics for 2019 show that the average monthly employee contribution for family coverage was $501. The average worker contribution for single coverage was much lower at $103. Both segments have been growing over the past 20 years. 

(Kaiser Family Foundation)

12. In 2019, the average annual employer contribution for single premiums was nearly $6,000.

The total amount was $5,946 out of an average premium of $7,188. The average annual contribution workers paid for single coverage was, in contrast, $1,242. Employers cover most of the average family coverage premiums of $20,576 too. The average annual amount they paid per family coverage in 2019 was $14,561. Health insurance stats show that workers paid an average of only $6,015 a year.

(Kaiser Family Foundation)

13. Nearly one-third of all American firms offer financial incentives to workers if they choose a cheaper health insurance plan.

About 32% of companies persuade employees to select a health plan that costs less. Businesses save even more if most workers accept the cheapest coverage. This practice is most common among companies with 5,000 or more employees, with about 39% offering it. 

(Kaiser Family Foundation)

14. Alaska has the highest average annual family health insurance premiums.

In 2019, the average premium for health coverage in the state was $22,969. Health insurance statistics by state reveal that New York came in second with an average total annual premium of $22,874. Other states with high family health coverage premiums are the District of Columbia ($22,311), New Jersey ($22,060), and Massachusetts ($21,424).

(Kaiser Family Foundation)

15. Alabama has the lowest average annual health coverage premiums.

The state’s average in 2019 was $17,734. Arkansas saw an insignificantly higher average of $17,773, while Mississippi’s average was $17,860. North Dakota, Utah, and Nevada were also among the states with low annual family health insurance premiums. Their respective averages in 2019 were $18,400, $18,674, and $18,720, according to health insurance data by state.

(Kaiser Family Foundation)

16. Alaska, New York, and Michigan are the states with the highest average employer contribution towards total health insurance premiums.

In 2019, in Alaska, the average employer contribution was $18,251. Employers from New York and Michigan came right next with average contributions of $17,725 and $16,740. Employees from South Carolina, Florida, and Louisiana meanwhile recorded the highest employee contributions with averages of $8,202, $7,198, and $7,164, respectively.

(Kaiser Family Foundation)

17. In 2018, nearly two-thirds of US citizens under 65 had private health coverage.

A total of 65.3% had any type of private health coverage, while 58.1% among those had employer-funded coverage, according to health insurance demographics stats. Respective 20.2% and 2.9% of Americans under 65 had Medicaid and Medicare coverage. Also, about 3.7% had other public coverage. The latest medical bankruptcies statistics show that these programs help millions of Americans deal with soaring healthcare costs. Finally, only 3.7% of the participants had no health insurance.

(CDC)

18. Over three-thirds of Americans aged 18-64 have private health coverage.

About 69.4% of these adults held private insurance in H1 2020, as indicated by health insurance industry statistics. This share has been hovering around 65-75% for the past 20 years. There’s been an interesting change in the percentages of uninsured Americans and those with public insurance. While in 2014, both categories represented about 15% each, in the years since, the share of uninsured adults has dropped to about 13.4% as of June 2020. The rate of publicly insured Americans, in contrast, jumped to 20.8%.

(CDC)

19. The public health insurance rates among children aged 0-17 are two times higher than those recorded among adults.

In H1 2020, about 41.1% of Americans from this age group had public health coverage. More than half (56.2%) had private coverage. The latest health insurance statistics show that only 5.2% were uninsured.

(CDC)

20. The share of uninsured poor and near-poor Americans has significantly dropped since 2010.

In 2010, over 80% of adult Americans without health insurance were either poor or near-poor. Less than 15% of uninsured adults in 2010 weren’t poor. As of June 2020, in contrast, all these figures had significantly dropped. So, only 21.8% and 23.9% of near-poor and poor adults had no health coverage. Health insurance facts further show that only 8.8% of not poor Americans were uninsured in 2018.

(CDC)

21. The percentage of Americans under 65 with private health insurance has improved over the past few years.

In H1 2020 about 4.3% of all citizens aged 18-64 had private coverage obtained either through a state-based exchange or via the Health Insurance Marketplace. In Q1 of 2014, in contrast, this share was below 2%. The overall number of adults with private insurance from the same age group meanwhile was 67.9% as of June 2020, according to US health insurance statistics.

(CDC)

22. Nearly 50% of persons under 65 were enrolled in a high-deductible health plan.

Approximately 45.8% of Americans under 65 had either a high-deductible health plan or a consumer-directed health plan in 2018. More precisely, 24.4% had an HDHP without a health savings account, and 20.4% had a CDHP. 

(CDC)

23. Hispanic Americans record the highest rates of uninsured individuals.

About 26.7% of people from this race and ethnicity were uninsured in 2018, according to stats on health insurance demographics. This figure, however, had significantly dropped since 2010 when the share of uninsured Hispanics was over 40%. African Americans had the second-highest share of people without health insurance at 15.2%. Only 9.0% and 8.1% of Asian and White Americans didn’t have health insurance in 2018. These figures apply to American adults aged 18-64.

(CDC)

24. Most White Americans have private health coverage, while most Hispanics are enrolled in Medicaid.

About 69% of White Americans had private insurance, while 23.8% and 4.1% were in Medicaid or uninsured, respectively. Among African Americans, the shares of individuals with private coverage, in Medicaid, and uninsured were 36.3%, 56.1%, and 4%, respectively. Asians in the US mostly had private health coverage (70.8%), as suggested by health insurance enrolment statistics. Approximately 23.6% and 2.8% among those were enrolled in Medicaid or had no insurance. Finally, only 34.8% of Asians had private coverage, and 7.7% had no insurance. The majority (55.1%) were enrolled in Medicaid. These stats are for 2017 and apply to Americans under 18.

(CDC)

25. Most uninsured American adults have been uninsured for less than a year.

About 17.7% of the participants claimed to be uninsured for some part of the year. Approximately 13.3% said that they were uninsured at the time of the interview. Only 7.9% of the people were without health insurance for over a year, as indicated by the United States health insurance statistics. All these segments have improved compared to the figures recorded in 2010. Namely, the shares of uninsured people for some time and 12+ months were about 30% and 15%.

(CDC)

26. Texas has the largest percentage of adults aged 18-64 without health insurance.

In 2018, about 25% of Texas consumers had no health coverage, while a year before 26.4% were in the same situation. Other states high on this list are Georgia (20.9%), Florida (20%), and North Carolina (17.2%), as indicated by health insurance statistics by state. Ohio noted a serious jump in the share of the uninsured population from 9.4% in 2017 to 12.7% in 2018. New Jersey had the opposite trend when the rate dropped from 11.8% in 2017 to 9.3% in 2018.

(CDC)

27. Nearly one-fourth of American adults aged 26-34 are uninsured.

About 22.2% of people from this age group had no health insurance in 2019. Next came Americans aged 35-44 with 19.9%. Around 16% of US consumers from the age group 45-54 were uninsured in 2019. The respective uninsured percentages of those aged 19-25, 0-18, and 55-64 in 2018 were 14.9%, 14.6%, and 12.4%. Senior Americans weren’t included in these health insurance facts and stats.

(Statista)

28. Over 30 million Americans have no health insurance.

In the first half of 2020, a total of 30.4 million US citizens had no health coverage. This figure had been slowly progressing over 2015-2019 to then drop in 2020. It, however, is much lower than the nearly 50 million (48.6 million) uninsured people recorded in 2010. Last time this figure was over 40 million was in 2013 when 44.8 million Americans were uninsured.

(Statista)

29. Only 316,000 American adults making $75,000 have no health insurance.

These Statista figures were for 2010 when 11.8 million single adults were uninsured. Per the health insurance stats, 8.73 million of those made less than $25,000 a year. Meaning, most uninsured American adults belong to the lowest income group. People who were making between $25,000-49,999 represented about 2.32 million uninsured consumers. Finally, about 478,000 Americans earning from $50,000-74,999 a year had no health insurance in 2010.

(Statista)

30. Health insurance expenditures totaled $3.6 trillion in 2018.

The largest share of these expenditures was covered by private health insurance. Health insurance statistics show that health consumption expenditure totaled $3.4 billion, while personal healthcare totaled just over $3 trillion, according to stats on healthcare costs by country

(CDC)

31. Healthcare fraud costs the US nearly $6 billion.

In the fiscal year 2019, the expected audit recoveries totaled $819 million, while the expected investigative recoveries were $5.04 billion. Investigators issued 163 audit reports and 46 evaluations. The amount of questioned costs was $913 billion, whereas the potential savings were $836 billion. In the fiscal year 2019, 809 criminal actions and 695 civil actions were opened, as evidenced by health insurance fraud statistics. 

(HHS)

32. Healthcare.gov health insurance issuers deny, on average, 17% of all claims.

This percentage represents nearly 40.4 million claims. On average, 83% of claims were paid. This means that 192.4 million requests get the green light. Only 11 out of 130 reporting issuers from healthcare.gov had denial rates of over 30%, according to health insurance claim denial statistics.

Tennessee (38.40%), New Hampshire (31.9%) Georgia (26.20%), and Kentucky (25.80%) are the states with the highest average rates of denied claims.

(Kaiser Family Foundation)

33. In 2008, the average denial rate was about 13%, and Americans aged 60-64 dealt with this issue the most.

About 29% of Americans from this age group had denied claims in 2008. Lower shares of about 35%, 20%, and 15% were recorded among those aged 55-59, 50-54, and 45-49. As the denial of health insurance claims statistics indicate, younger individuals have fewer such issues. Only 5% and 10% of Americans under 17 and 18-24 dealt with denied claims. The denial rates among those 25-39 went between 12% and 15%.

(GAO)

Health Insurance FAQ

What happens when you don’t have health insurance?

People without health insurance coverage in the United States must pay a fine when they submit their taxes. More importantly, though, you may end up with huge medical bills if you’re treated for a severe injury or illness.

How big is the health insurance industry?

In 2020, the global health insurance market size was estimated at a stunning $1.98 trillion, surpassing expectations amid the COVID-19 pandemic. By 2028, the sector is expected to surpass $4.15 trillion, projected to grow at a CAGR of 9.7%. (Allied Market Research) 

How many health insurance companies exist in the US?

The total number of health insurance companies in the US surpassed 900. Health insurance companies offer various health coverage plans to millions of Americans and their employers. Top brands operating in the USA health insurance industry are UnitedHealth, Anthem, Humana, and CVS.

Can I live in one state and have health insurance in another?

Yes and no. You can’t have a single health coverage plan in one state and live in another. You can, however, have multiple health insurance plans in different states. Each state has its own regulations and, therefore, you must be insured by a company working under that jurisdiction.

Final Words

With the American medical costs being higher than ever, health coverage is the best investment one can make these days. Even though over 30 million US citizens are uninsured, the latest American health insurance statistics reveal positive trends. Plus, employers cover about 70% of the total cost of private health insurance in the US. If these positive changes continue, fewer people in the US will deal with medical bankruptcies and massive bills.

References: Statista, Statista, NAIC, Kaiser Family Foundation, Kaiser Family Foundation, Kaiser Family Foundation, Kaiser Family Foundation, Kaiser Family Foundation, Kaiser Family Foundation, CDC, CDC CDC, CDC, Statista, Statista, Statista, CDC, HHS, Kaiser Family Foundation, GAO, Allied Market Research

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