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The U.S. workers in the farming, fishing and forestry industries were only about half as likely to have private health coverage in 2024 as our architects and engineers.
The uninsured rate was just 2.5%, for workers in the architecture and engineering category and 29.4%, for workers in the farming, fishing and forestry category.
The percentage of workers with private health coverage was 95% for the architects and engineers and just 50.3% for the farming, fishing and forestry workers.
The other occupation types with private coverage rates under 65% were:
◆ Construction and extraction workers: 60.6%
◆ Building and grounds cleaning and maintenance workers: 58.1%
◆ Food preparation and serving-related workers: 57.1%
Halelujha Ketema and other analysts at the U.S. Census Bureau put data on health coverage rates by occupation type in an analysis of new Current Population Survey data.
Related: Could voluntary prescription plans help small employers ease the squeeze?
The bureau posted the analysis earlier this week along with a collection of new Current Population Survey results tables.
The analysts combined all types of private coverage under the label "private insurance coverage." They did not break out data for employer health plan, individual and family coverage, or other types of private coverage.
In 2024, about 89% of U.S. civilians ages 19 to 64 who lived outside institutions had some kind of health coverage, and 74% had private health coverage.
What it means: One of the goals of the drafters of the Affordable Care Act was to reduce the percentage of workers who lacked health coverage.
Now, more than 10 years after the ACA framework for employer health coverage started to come to life, the percentage of workers with private health coverage in some sectors is still low.
Members of Congress like Sen. Bernie Sanders, an independent from Vermont who works with the Democrats, say the best solution is to set up universal, government-run health benefits programs.
Other health policy watchers have suggested that programs based on individual coverage health reimbursement arrangements or similar health account programs could help provide better access to health coverage for part-time workers, seasonal workers and workers who may not get much help from the ACA employer "shared responsibility" coverage provisions but who may fail to qualify for Medicaid or substantial help from the ACA premium tax credit subsidy system.
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