Health Insurance: Uninsured by State, 2008 (CRS Report for Congress)
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Release Date |
Revised Oct. 9, 2009 |
Report Number |
96-979 |
Authors |
Chris L. Peterson and April Grady, Domestic Social Policy Division |
Source Agency |
Congressional Research Service |
Older Revisions |
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Premium Revised Sept. 5, 2008 (6 pages, $24.95)
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Premium Revised Sept. 8, 2006 (6 pages, $24.95)
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Premium Revised Nov. 19, 2002 (6 pages, $24.95)
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Summary:
An estimated 15.7% of the noninstitutionalized U.S. population lacked healthinsurance coverage in 2004, up from 15.2% in 2002 and 14.6% in 2001. Whenexamined by state, estimates of the percent uninsured ranged from a low of 8.9% inMinnesota to a high of 25.0% in Texas. Generally, states in the Midwest and NewEngland have lower rates of uninsured, while states in the southern portion of the nationhave higher shares of their populations without coverage.These state-level estimates are based on the March 2005 Current Population Survey(CPS) and must be interpreted with caution because they are based on a survey sample.When sampling variation is taken into account, the uninsured rate in 14 states is notdifferent statistically from the uninsured rate nationwide. The uninsured rate isstatistically lower than the national rate in 27 states and the District of Columbia, andstatistically higher in the remaining nine states.State-level analysis is only one way to examine data about health insurancecoverage. Some factors related to the percent of a state's population that is uninsuredmay be affected by the state, such as eligibility criteria for the state's Medicaid and StateChildren's Health Insurance programs or other programs for those lacking healthinsurance. Other factors may be beyond the state's direct control, such as thewillingness of employers to offer coverage and the financial resources of the state'spopulation to purchase coverage.