Senator Eliot Shapleigh - El Paso, Texas

(WASHINGTON) — The number of Americans without health insurance rose to 46.3 million last year as people began losing jobs and coverage in the current recession.

The Census Bureau's annual report released Thursday offers a snapshot of the economic well-being of American households for 2008, the first full year of the recession. It comes as Congress engages in its high-stakes debate over a health care overhaul, following a renewed plea Wednesday night by President Barack Obama to pass sweeping legislation. (See "The Obama Health Care Speech in Three Minutes.")

Analysts cautioned the numbers for 2008 could significantly understate today's reality since they do not capture the economic impact in the first half of 2009, when unemployment was steadily rising. The census also asked people whether they had health coverage anytime during 2008, and thus may not include those who lost jobs and their insurance after the financial meltdown last fall.

The jump in poverty could add a new dimension to the health care debate, since eligibility for government aid programs such as Medicaid and children's insurance is tied to the federal poverty level. That means more people will qualify, potentially adding strain to states already struggling to balance budgets due to the recession.

Speaking at the White House, Obama acknowledged that the number of those without coverage may be higher than the Census figures.

"The situation's grown worse over the last 12 months," he said. "It's estimated that the ranks of the uninsured have swelled by at least 6 million."

The figures show about 46.3 million people were uninsured last year. That's higher than the 45.7 million in 2007, due to the steady erosion of employer-provided health insurance. Still, the level remained just below the peak of 47 million who were uninsured in 2006, because of the growth of government insurance programs such as Medicaid for the poor.

The percentage of Americans without health coverage rose to 15.4 percent, which is not statistically different from 15.3 percent in 2007.

The median — or midpoint — household income declined to $50,303.

In terms of the uninsured, the Census data show employment-based health insurance declined from 177.4 million to 176.3 million, driving the overall decreases in insurance. In contrast, the number covered by government health insurance such as Medicaid and S-CHIP climbed from 83.0 million to 87.4 million. Children, in particular, saw improvement, helped by recent expansions of government health insurance.