Three-quarters of U.S. uninsured employed

MENLO PARK, Calif., Dec. 28 (UPI) -- Seventy-five percent of the some 50 million of the U.S. population with no health insurance come from working families, researchers say.

The report by the Kaiser Family Foundation says 57 percent of people in the U.S. under age 65 receive health insurance coverage as an employer benefit. Medicare covers virtually all those who are age 65 years and older, but the non-elderly who do not have access to or cannot afford private insurance now go without health coverage unless they qualify for insurance through the Medicaid program, Children's Health Insurance Program or a state-subsidized program.

The report says the recession has resulted in many losing their health insurance because they have become unemployed, but it has become increasingly difficult for many of the employed to afford coverage.

The average annual total cost of employer-sponsored family coverage is $13,770 in 2010, and the share of the premium paid by workers increased to 30 percent this year.

Adults make up 70 percent of the non-elderly population -- ages 19 to 65 -- but make up more than 80 percent of the uninsured.

Most low-income children qualify for Medicaid or the Children's Health Insurance Program, but low-income adults under the age of 65 typically qualify for Medicaid only if they are disabled, pregnant or have dependent children.