Aside from the year-to-year comparison below, the other important information in the Census data is the cycle-to-cycle comparison. In other words, since the last recession, which started in 2001, we've had about six years of uninterrupted economic expansion. What you'd hope to see over that time is a serious dent in the number of uninsured, such that when the next downcycle begins -- 2008, by most estimates -- the lows are lower because you gained so much ground in the interim. Looking at the numbers though, such high hopes seem unfounded:
The rate of the uninsured, in other words, is higher at the end of this expansion than it was in the midst of 2001's contraction. That's bad news.
The rate of the uninsured, in other words, is higher at the end of this expansion than it was in the midst of 2001's contraction. That's bad news. 
