Number of uninsured in U.S. down

WASHINGTON (CNN) - Participation in government health insurance programs, particularly those aimed at children, increased from 2006 to 2007, leading to a decrease in the number of Americans lacking insurance, the U.S. Census Bureau said Tuesday.

Overall, 45.7 million people, or 15.3 percent of U.S. residents, did not have health insurance in 2007, the bureau said in releasing reports on poverty, income and insurance. That represents a decrease from the 2006 level of 47 million, or 15.8 percent.

The decrease came as a surprise, as the number of uninsured Americans had been expected to rise for a seventh straight year. It also gives a boost to proponents of expanding government health-care plans such as the State Children's Health Insurance Program, or SCHIP.

The percentage of people, including children, covered by government health insurance programs increased to 27.8 percent in 2007 from 27 percent in 2006. The number of children under 18 without health insurance fell to 11 percent, or 8.1 million - lower than the 2006 numbers of 11.1 percent and 8.7 million.