NUMBER OF U.S. UNINSURED DROPS IN 1999.

The number of uninsured U.S. residents dropped by 1.7 million to 42.6 million in 1999 from 44.3 million in 1998, according to a U.S. Census Bureau report. Similarly, the proportion of the nation's residents who were uninsured declined from 16.3 percent in 1998 to 15.5 percent in 1999, the first

In addition, the number and percentage of the nation's children who were uninsured dropped from 11.1 million (15.4 percent) in 1998 to 10.0 million (13.9 percent) in 1999. Young adults (18 to 24 years old) remained the least likely of any age group to have health insurance coverage, but their chances of having coverage increased by 1 percentage point to 71.0 percent in 1999. Although the Medicaid program insured 12.9 million individuals during at least part of 1999, 10.4 million individuals had no health insurance during the year. The percentage of people without health insurance in 1999 ranged from 24.1 percent for those in households with annual incomes of less than $25,000 to 8.3 percent for those in households with incomes of $75,000 or more.

Among those 18 to 64 years old in 1999, only 16.4 percent of full-time workers were uninsured, compared with 22.4 percent of part-time employees. The uninsured population included 33.4 percent of Hispanics, 21.2 percent of African-Americans, 20.8 percent of Asians and Pacific Islanders, and 11.0 percent of non-Hispanic whites.