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), 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)