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The number of Americans without health insurance is growing at an unprecedented rate. The most recent measured data from the U.S. Census Bureau showed that there were 46 million Americans without health insurance in 2007. But new research released by the North Carolina Institute of Medicine stated that in January 2009 there were an almost 52 million uninsured in the United States.[1]
The map below shows the percentage increase in the uninsured in every state since 2007—the last time the government made an official estimate through the census. Clicking on a state will show the current number and percentage of people without health insurance.
This increase is a 13-percent jump since 2007—the largest two-year leap since the last effort at national health reform in 1994. What’s more, these numbers are undoubtedly worse today due to deteriorated economic conditions and rising national and state unemployment rates since January.[2]
It’s important to point out that the national average increase obscures the unprecedented increase that some states have seen over the last two years, including a 22-percent increase in North Carolina, and Indiana, and a 21-percent increase in Nevada. Approximately 890,000 more people are uninsured in California, 551,000 more people are uninsured in Texas, and 506,000 more people are uninsured in Florida than in 2007.
These findings are supported by anecdotal evidence as well. Recently, Wellpoint, a major health insurer, reported experiencing the largest quarterly drop in enrollment in their history.[3] And the Kaiser Family Foundation reports that states are seeing a significant jump in those who are seeking Medicaid because they have lost insurance.[4]
These findings illustrate the urgency of fixing America’s broken health care system to provide continuous, affordable coverage for all.
Note: Massachusetts is not included in the map as the University of North Carolina study did not take recent dramatic changes to the Massachusetts health system into account.
Endnotes
[1] Mark Holmes, Thomas C. Ricketts, and Jennifer King. "Updating Uninsured Estimates for Current Economic Conditions: State Specific Estimates," Cecil G. Sheps Center for Health Services Research and North Carolina Institute of Medicine (March 2009).
[2] Heather Boushey and Nayla Kazzi, “Increased Job Losses in Nearly Every State,” (Washington: Center for American Progress, April 20, 2009), available at http://americanprogress.org/issues/2009/04/march_unemployment.html.
[3] The Wall Street Journal, “Health Plans Lose Members to Layoffs,” April 23, 2009.
[4] Diane Rowland, “Health Care and Medicaid—Weathering the Recession,” New England Journal Of Medicine, March 26, 2009, available at http://content.nejm.org/cgi/content/full/360/13/1273.
Download the full report (pdf)
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