Uninsured Ranks Grew In 2006: Census Bureau

The number of uninsured Asians remained statistically unchanged, at 2 million in 2006, while their uninsured rate declined to 15.5% from 17.2% in 2005.

Regionally, the Midwest had the lowest uninsured rate in 2006, at 11.4%, followed by the Northeast (12.3%), the West (17.9%) and the South (19%). Increases in uninsured rates occurred in the Northeast and South, where uninsured rates for 2005 rates had been 11.7% and 18%, respectively.

Among states, Texas had the highest percentage of uninsured using a 3-year average, with 24.1% lacking health insurance. The rates for Minnesota (8.5%), Hawaii (8.6%), Iowa (9.3%), Wisconsin (9.4%) and Maine (9.5%) were lowest.

Of particular significance to the debate over the proposed State Children’s Health Insurance Program (SCHIP) legislation, figures for uninsured children rose from 8 million (10.9%) in 2005 to 8.7 million (11.7%) in 2006, according to the bureau’s report.

Commenting on the data, the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation, Princeton, N.J. called for bipartisan cooperation in renewing SCHIP.

“We need to safeguard the program and strengthen it so that more children who are already eligible for SCHIP can get covered,” said Risa Lavizzo-Mourey, president and chief executive of the foundation. “The alternative is to divide our children further into those who get a fair chance at a healthy life and those who don’t.”