UPDATE 1-Wal-Mart says percentage of uninsured workers down

(Adds details on workers, quote)

NEW YORK, Jan 22 (Reuters) - Wal-Mart Stores Inc (WMT.N: Quote, Profile, Research), the world's largest retailer, said on Tuesday that the number of its workers without health insurance has fallen over the last year, helped by new plans.

Wal-Mart said that 7.3 percent of its sales associates had no health insurance, down from 9.6 percent a year ago.

According to a survey of 802,091 employees, Wal-Mart said 50.2 percent had a Wal-Mart health plan, while 22.3 percent were insured by a spouse's plan, 4.3 percent by Medicare and 4.2 percent by their parents, school or college.

"With 690.970 associates -- and more than 1.1 million people in total -- now covered by Wal-Mart's plans, we can see that the improvements we've made are being embraced by our associates and their families," said Linda Dillman, Wal-Mart's executive vice president of benefits and risk management.

The company also said it will commission a study to better understand why some workers declined coverage and to identify things that can be done to encourage them to accept it in the future. (Reporting by Martinne Geller; Editing by Brian Moss)