U.S. ECONOMY Census: Poverty numbers rise in Pa.

The number of Pennsylvanians without health insurance rose this decade.
PHILADELPHIA (AP) -- The percentage of Pennsylvanians living in poverty has risen slightly in recent years, the Census Bureau said Thursday.
An average 9.9 percent of Pennsylvanians were impoverished in the three-year period ending in 2003, according to Census data, up from a 9.2 percent average in the three-year period ending in 2002.
The numbers reflect the downturn of the U.S. economy after a decade of tremendous economic growth, during which the percentage of poor had dwindled steadily in Pennsylvania. Between 1992 and 1994, some 12.4 percent of the state's population was impoverished.
The reversal of that trend came as household income stagnated somewhat after years of moderate gains. The median household income in the state was $43,869 in the three-year period ending in 2003, compared to $43,577 in the period ending in 2002.
Health insurance
The segment of people in the state without health insurance also rose in the first part of this decade. In the three years ending in 2003, about 10.7 percent of Pennsylvanians were uninsured, up from a decade-low of 8.3 percent in the three years ending in 2000.
People without health insurance sometimes pay their own medical bills, but are often unable to afford proper health care.
Pennsylvania's numbers closely mirror national trends. About 12.5 percent of Americans lived below the poverty line in 2003, up from 12.1 percent in 2002, the Census Bureau said.
The Census on Thursday also released the results of its 2003 American Community Survey, which offers a snapshot of demographics in all 50 states.