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"The Census report also serves to highlight a key difference between the health care reform proposals of Senators Obama and McCain," said Pollack. "Senator Obama's plan seeks to strengthen employer-sponsored health insurance, while Senator McCain's approach is designed to accelerate the erosion of health coverage in the workplace."

Senator McCain's health plan would eliminate the exemption from income taxes of the value of health coverage provided to workers by employers. Many analysts have concluded that such a change would result in a substantial diminution of employer-sponsored health coverage.

The overall number of uninsured remains considerably higher than it was at the turn of the decade. In 2000, the number of uninsured was 38.4 million. Today, the number is 7.3 million higher - an average annual increase of 1 million. For each year since 2000, except for the latest annual figures, the number of uninsured has increased.

"As employer-sponsored health coverage continues to erode," said Pollack, "it is important that meaningful health care reform becomes the top and earliest domestic priority of the next President and Congress."

Families USA is the national organization for health care consumers. It is nonprofit and nonpartisan and advocates for high-quality, affordable health care for all Americans.