One-in-5 U.S. adults ages 26-64 uninsured

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WASHINGTON, April 6 (UPI) -- About 1-in-5 U.S. adults ages 26-64 report not having health insurance for the past year, a survey indicates.

The Gallup-Healthways Well-Being Index, conducted from Jan. 2 to March 30, 2012, among 88,908 adults, found the percentage of all adults who get their health insurance through an employer trended down from 49.8 percent in 2008 to 44.5 percent currently.

The percentage who have a government plan through Medicare, Medicaid or military/veterans' benefits has increased to 25.3 percent, Gallup officials said.

The percentage of Americans who say they get their health insurance through "something else" -- which could mean they purchase it themselves -- has held steady over the years, at nearly 11 percent.

The percentage of 18- to 25-year-old Americans who do not have health insurance leveled off at the 24 percent range, after declining from about 28 percent when the Affordable Care Act provision allowing adults as old as age 26 to stay on a parent's plan took effect.

The survey has a margin of error of 1 percentage point.