Today, Health and Human Services Secretary Kathleen Sebelius released new numbers concerning the number of uninsured people in Washington State. The numbers come from analysis of last week’s census bureau numbers regarding the uninsured.

“These numbers only serve to further confirm a reality that far too many American families live with every day,” said Secretary Sebelius. “Our health care system has reached a breaking point. The status quo is unsustainable, and continuing to delay reform is not an option.”

Here are the newly released numbers:

• The status quo is not an option. The number of uninsured in Washington has increased from 763,000 in 2001 to 808,000 in 2008. The percent of non-elderly adults without insurance increased from 16.0% to 16.4%. And this number only considers people who are uninsured for an entire year – it does not include people in Washington who have more recently lost coverage through the recession, or who had shorter gaps in their coverage.

• Private coverage is eroding under the status quo. The percentage of people with employer-based coverage decreased from 74.3% of the population in 2001 to 69.1% in 2008.

• More workers are being left without protection from health care costs. Too many workers in Washington do not have health coverage, at 538,000 in 2008. And the proportion of workers from Washington without insurance has increased, from 15.3% in 2001 to 15.9% in 2008.

• The problem of the uninsured is a problem that crosses income brackets. The new Census numbers also drive home the fact that everyone in Washington is vulnerable to losing health insurance. An additional 28,000 people from high-income households are now uninsured.