Poll: Uninsured adults up slightly in U.S.

WASHINGTON, July 22 (UPI) -- A poll released Wednesday said one in six U.S. adults don't have health insurance, with the rate is higher among the young and Hispanics.

The Gallup-Healthways Well-Being Index for June indicates the lack of healthcare insurance among adults at 16 percent, up from 14.8 percent in 2008.

The pollster said in a written statement that U.S. government estimates of 46 million Americans currently uninsured, about 15.3 percent of all Americans, including children, is based on Census data from 2007.

Gallup said its poll concluded that the rate of uninsured among whites is 11.6 percent compared to 19.9 percent for African-Americans and a whopping 41.5 percent for Hispanics.

Of people earning less than $36,000 per year, 28.6 percent have no health insurance. The age group most likely to be uninsured is 18-29 at 27.6 percent. People age 65 or older often don't have insurance but qualify for Medicare.

The monthly poll was compiled from an average of 1,000 phone interviews per day and had a maximum margin of error of plus or minus 1 percent.