BEIJNG, Agu. 29 (Xinhuanet) -- The number of people in the U.S. without medical insurance rose 5 percent to a record 47 million in 2006, the largest increase in four years, media reported Wednesday.

    The percentage of people in the U.S. who received health benefits through an employer declined in 2006 to 59.7 percent, from 60.2 percent in 2005, the Census Bureau report found.

    The number of uninsured children in the U.S. increased in 2006 to 8.7 million, or 11.7 percent of all kids, from 8.0 million, or 10.9 percent, in 2005. Children living in poverty were almost twice as likely to be uninsured, census figures showed.

    The growing number of uninsured Americans, as incomes rise, may bolster efforts by Democrats in Congress to expand government health-care programs. President George W. Bush has argued for adding tax incentives instead that would encourage individuals to buy their own insurance policies.

    "What this shows is that we aren't going to see increased insurance simply by having economic good times," said Stuart Butler, a policy analyst at the Heritage Foundation, a research center in Washington. "There has to be a structural change. Employment-based insurance is steadily eroding."

    Republicans and Democrats in Washington are struggling for solutions to soaring medical expenses, which have been rising about twice as fast as wages, according to health policy researchers.

    The number of uninsured has been rising since 2001, while the percentage of U.S. residents without coverage increased in every year except 2004. 

    Bush said his proposal to give all Americans a tax deduction to cover the costs of health insurance would be fairer to those who don't get benefits from their employer and would encourage more people to buy coverage.

    (Agencies)