Over the span of the last few years, did you have continuous health insurance coverage?

If your answer is “no,” you have a lot of company. Recent data from the Census Bureau’s Survey of Income and Program Participation show that 1 in 4 Americans did not have health insurance for at least 1 month during the 32-month interview period between February 1990 and September 1992.

The Brief examines the likelihood of having a lapse in health insurance coverage over two different lengths of time – 12 months (the 1990 calendar year) and 32 months (February 190 through September 1992). It also looks at which groups were likely to have had a lapse in coverage during the latter period and which groups were more likely to have had continuous coverage.