Trend Data on Individual Health Insurance Policies

AHRQ News and Numbers

Release date: May 10, 2005

Nationwide, the total number of people under age 65 who held individual health insurance policies declined more than 14 percent from 6.9 million in 1996 to 6 million in 2002, according to the Federal Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality.

Individual, or non-group, health insurance is coverage that people buy directly from health insurers when they are not eligible for employer-based private health insurance or public health insurance such as Medicaid.

• Between 1996 and 2002, the average premium for a single policy increased by 52 percent from $1,665 to $2,531.
• The average premium for a family policy increased by 33 percent from $3,329 to $4,442.
• Premiums also varied by the age of the policyholder. In 2002, average premiums for single coverage were:
  • $1,661 for purchasers younger than 40
  • $2,767 for purchasers 40 to 54
  • $3,703 for purchasers 55 to 64

For a copy of this study, Premiums in the Individual Health Insurance Market for Policyholders under Age 65, 1996 and 2002, visit http://www.meps.ahrq.gov/mepsweb/data_files/publications/st72/stat72.pdf [PDF Help].

Internet Citation:

Trend Data on Individual Health Insurance Policies. AHRQ News and Numbers, May 10, 2005. Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality, Rockville, MD. http://www.ahrq.gov/news/nn/nn051005.htm