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<DIV><FONT face=Arial size=2><FONT size=3><FONT face="Times New Roman">Tuesday,
September 30, 2003</FONT></FONT></FONT></DIV>
<DIV><FONT face=Arial size=2><FONT size=3><FONT face="Times New Roman">Number of
uninsured hits 43.6 million</FONT></FONT></FONT></DIV>
<DIV><FONT face=Arial size=2>By <I>Associated
Press</I><!--/byline--></BYLINE></DIV><!--columnsig--->
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<P><B>WASHINGTON </B>-- The ranks of the uninsured swelled by 2.4 million last
year as insurance costs continued rising and more Americans lost their jobs and
health care coverage. </P>
<P>The number of people without health insurance the entire year rose to 43.6
million, a jump of almost 6 percent from 2001 and the second consecutive annual
increase, the Census Bureau said today. The percentage of Americans without
health coverage rose from 14.6 percent to 15.2 percent. </P>
<P>Michigan had 1.1 million residents without health insurance last year, an
increase of 1.3 percent, or 120,000 people. </P>
<P>Reflecting the broad scope of the economic recession and its aftermath,
significant increases in uninsured rates occurred among whites, blacks, people
18-to-64, and middle- and higher-income earners. Rates increased in all regions
of the country except the West. </SPAN><BR clear=all><MULTIPIX name="bottom"
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