Abstract: About 46 million people in the United States had no health insurance coverage in 2008—more than one in every six (17%) of the population under age 65. Having a clear picture of who the uninsured are is fundamental to addressing this nation-wide problem.
Beginning with its 1998 chartbook, “Uninsured in America,” the Kaiser Commission on Medicaid and the Uninsured has updated both national and state information on the uninsured annually, examining how many Americans lack coverage, who the uninsured are, and how health insurance coverage is changing. This web—based chart book includes many more figures and tables and provides a more comprehensive profile of the uninsured and health insurance coverage overall.
This chartbook provides figures and tables for the following subpopulations:
· Nonelderly
· Children
· Nonelderly adults
· Working adults
Figures are provided for important social, economic, and health status determinates of health insurance coverage:
- Age groups
- Gender
- Family income
- Family work status
- Household type
- Race/Ethnicity
- Education
- Citizenship
- Health status
- And specifically for the working adult population:
- Work status;
- Occupation, Industry, and
- Employer size
National—level tables are linked to figures to provide supporting data. State—level tables (based on two—year averages of 2007 and 2008 data) are also provided in this chart book. These tables include health insurance coverage and uninsured rates for the nonelderly population in each state, as well as children vs. adults and the low—income subgroups of each.
