Enrollment up for individual, public plans in 2010

Enrollment in group health plans decreased last year while individual policies rose, according to the latest national health expenditure account from the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS). The number of people with a group health insurance plan dropped by 2.6 percent to 166 million people, meaning that 4.5 million lost employer-sponsored coverage, reported LifeHealthPro. Conversely, individual health plans increased 3.6 percent to 22 million, meaning 800,000 people gained coverage last year. Government health programs also saw a rise in enrollment, with Medicare increasing 2.5 percent to 47 million and Medicaid rising 5.8 percent to 54 million. Article