IPSPR: Electronic Publications

Definition: This indicator represents the percentage of people without health insurance coverage.

Significance: As reported by the National Coalition on Health Care, “Approximately 46 million Americans, or 15.7 percent of the population, were without health insurance in 2004. The number of uninsured rose 800,000 between 2003 and 2004 and has increased by 6 million since 2000. Millions of workers don't have the opportunity to get coverage. A third of firms in the U.S. did not offer coverage in 2004. Lack of insurance compromises the health of the uninsured because they receive less preventive care, are diagnosed at more advanced disease stages, and once diagnosed, tend to receive less therapeutic care and have higher mortality rates than the insured.”[i] [ii]

Data reflect South Carolina (SC) average, the percentage of the total United States (US) population, and the Southeast (SE) average. The southeast region consists of Alabama, Florida, Georgia, Kentucky, Mississippi, North Carolina, South Carolina, and Tennessee.

Data reflects responses to the Annual Social and Economic Supplement (ASEC) to the Current Population Survey of the U.S. Census Bureau. The ASEC is a survey of approximately 78,000 households in which respondents are asked, among other things, about their health insurance coverage during the previous year. If they lacked coverage at any point during the year, they are counted as “not covered.”

Selected State Rankings, 2006 (“1” represents state with highest percentage of population counted as having been without health insurance at some point during the year. Rankings reflect a standard competition ranking method that accounts for ties that result in two or more states having the same rank.)

[i] Retrieved September 29, 2006 from http://www.nchc.org/facts/coverage.shtml .

[ii] “The United States spends nearly $100 billion per year to provide uninsured residents with health services, often for preventable diseases or diseases that physicians could treat more efficiently with earlier diagnosis.” Retrieved September 29, 2006 from http://www.nchc.org/facts/coverage.shtml .