Persons Without Health Insurance Concentrated in South

According to recently-released data compiled by RAND State Statistics here, the percentage of persons without health insurance is the highest in several states in the South (Figure 1). According to RAND State Statistics, the percent of uninsured in Texas is the highest in Texas (18.4%), Oklahoma (14.3%), Georgia (13.4%), Florida (13.2%), Mississippi (13.0%), and Wyoming (12.3%).  The lowest rates are in the Northeast and Upper Midwest: Massachusetts (3.0%), Rhode Island (4.1%), Vermont (4.5%), Minnesota (4.9%), Iowa (5.0%), and New York (5.2%).  The average uninsurance rate in the United States was 9.2%.

 

Figure 1—States With Highest Rate of Uninsured Persons, 2019

 

Counties with the highest rate of uninsured persons were also concentrated in the South, particularly in Texas (Figure 2). The highest rate of uninsured was in Hidalgo County, TX with 32.2% uninsured. Apache County, AZ ranked second highest at 31.4%. Eight of the top 10 counties with the highest rates of uninsurance were in Texas.

 

Figure 2—Counties With Highest Rate of Uninsured Persons, 2019

 

The uninsurance rate has fallen considerably in all states since 2010 (Table 1). The greatest decreases occurred in Rhode Island (-66% to 4.1%), California (-58% to 7.7%), and Kentucky (58% to 6.4%). The smallest decreases occurred in Puerto Rico (-3%, Wyoming (-17%), and South Dakota (-18%). The decrease for the United States overall was 41%, ending in 2019 at 9.2%.

 

Table 1—State Uninsured Rate, 2010, 2019

Rank	State	2010	2019	Change, 2010-2019
1	Rhode Island	12.2	4.1	-66%
2	California	18.5	7.7	-58%
3	Kentucky	15.3	6.4	-58%
4	Oregon	17.2	7.2	-58%
5	New York	11.9	5.2	-56%
6	West Virginia	14.6	6.7	-54%
7	District of Columbia	7.6	3.5	-54%
8	Washington	14.2	6.6	-54%
9	Michigan	12.4	5.8	-53%
10	Montana	17.3	8.3	-52%
11	Louisiana	17.8	8.9	-50%
12	Colorado	15.9	8	-50%
13	Nevada	22.6	11.4	-50%
14	New Mexico	19.6	10	-49%
15	Arkansas	17.5	9.1	-48%
16	Maryland	11.3	6	-47%
17	Hawaii	7.9	4.2	-47%
18	Illinois	13.8	7.4	-46%
19	Ohio	12.3	6.6	-46%
20	Iowa	9.3	5	-46%
21	Minnesota	9.1	4.9	-46%
22	Vermont	8.1	4.5	-44%
23	New Hampshire	11.1	6.3	-43%
24	Pennsylvania	10.2	5.8	-43%
25	Indiana	14.8	8.7	-41%
26	United States	15.5	9.2	-41%
27	New Jersey	13.2	7.9	-40%
28	Virginia	13.1	7.9	-40%
29	Wisconsin	9.4	5.7	-39%
30	Idaho	17.8	10.8	-39%
31	Alaska	19.9	12.2	-39%
32	South Carolina	17.5	10.8	-38%
33	Florida	21.3	13.2	-38%
34	Utah	15.3	9.7	-37%
35	Connecticut	9.1	5.9	-35%
36	Kansas	13.9	9.2	-34%
37	Alabama	14.6	9.7	-34%
38	Arizona	16.9	11.3	-33%
39	North Carolina	16.8	11.3	-33%
40	Georgia	19.7	13.4	-32%
41	Delaware	9.7	6.6	-32%
42	Massachusetts	4.4	3	-32%
43	Tennessee	14.4	10.1	-30%
44	North Dakota	9.8	6.9	-30%
45	Mississippi	18.2	13	-29%
46	Nebraska	11.5	8.3	-28%
47	Oklahoma	18.9	14.3	-24%
48	Missouri	13.2	10	-24%
49	Texas	23.7	18.4	-22%
50	Maine	10.1	8	-21%
51	South Dakota	12.4	10.2	-18%
52	Wyoming	14.9	12.3	-17%
53	Puerto Rico	8	7.8	-3%

 

Persons Without Health Insurance Concentrated Among Racial Minorities

2019 data show that uninsurance rates remain the highest for racial minorities (Figure 3). The rate of uninsured American Indian and Alaska Native persons reached 19.1%, compared with Hispanics (18.7%), and Black or African American (10.1%). The rate of uninsurance for White persons as 8.3%, while the rate for Asians was lowest at 6.6%. The highest uninsurance rate for any race was in South Carolina, where Native Hawaiian and Other Pacific Islander alone topped 48%.

 

Figure 3—Uninsurance Rate by Race/Ethnicity, 2019

 

Persons Without Health Insurance Concentrated Among Lowest Income

Households with income of less than $25,000 continued to show uninsurance rates higher than most others, although households with incomes from $25,000 to $49,999 were slightly higher in 2019 (Figure 4). The lowest rate of uninsurance in 2019 was among households with $100,000 or more income, where the rate was 4.8%, or roughly one-half the U.S. average.

 

Figure 4—Uninsurance Rate by Household Income, 2010-2019

 

Persons Without Health Insurance Concentrated Among Ages 26-34

Finally, the lowest rate of uninsurance by age occurred for those age 65 and over at 0.8% (Figure 5).  The rate for persons under age 19 was 5.7%, while that for persons age 19-64 was 12.9%.  The highest rate for any age group was 16.1% for those age 26 to 34. 

 

Figure 5—Uninsurance Rate by Age Grouup, 2019

 

 

Category: Health & Health Care