Fewer uninsured 18-to-25s, survey says

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WASHINGTON, Oct. 19 (UPI) -- More Americans 18 to 25 years old have health insurance than in the past, but the uninsured among those 26 to 64 years old has grown, a survey indicates.

The Gallup-Healthways Well-Being Index, which tracks well-being in the United States and other countries, said 23.4 percent of 18- to 25-year-old Americans were without healthcare coverage in the third quarter of 2012, down from a high of 28.9 percent in the third quarter of 2009. The number of uninsured in the 26-64 age group is 19.4 percent and trending upward from 15 percent in January 2008.

The increase in the older age group is indicative of higher unemployment and reduced benefits for those employed, Gallup said in a statement Friday.

The results were based on a random sample of 90,998 telephone interviews conducted July 1 to Sept. 30 throughout the United States, the polling service said, with a sampling error of plus-or-minus 1.8 percent.