Uninsured Spells of the Poor: Prevalence and Duration

The number of persons without health insurance is increasing. Although research has focused on the uninsured poor and the duration of spells without health insurance, less attention has been paid to the dynamics of spells without health insurance among those in poverty. Here it is shown that the typical uninsured spell is longer for the uninsured poor (roughly 8.3 months) than for the uninsured non-poor (roughly 6 months) and that the duration of spells has increased over time. In addition, more than 40 percent of the uninsured at a point in time are chronically uninsured and poor or near-poor.