April 8, 2009, 7:00PM
This is a disgrace on the world stage . . .
Through all the jibber-jabber, wonkery, smoke and mirrors and partisan hackery, and corporate market driven bullsh!t the following statistics have been buried.
Below is the estimated percentage and number of uninsured people in the United States organized by state. The information reflects estimated two- and three-year averages as reported by the U.S. Census Bureau in August 2008, Page 25. (pdf)
The five states with the highest estimated percentage of uninsured between 2005 and 2007 are, in order, Texas, New Mexico, Florida, Arizona, and Mississippi.
The five states with the lowest estimated percentage of uninsured for the same period are, in order, Hawaii, Massachusetts, Minnesota, Wisconsin, and Iowa.
State Percent Uninsured by Three-Year Average (Number Unisured) [2005-2007] Percent Uninsured by Two-Year Average [2004-2005] Percent Uninsured by Two-Year Average [2006-2007] Alabama 13.9% (632,000) 13.5% 13.6% Alaska 17.3% (115,000) 16.9% 17.4% Arizona 19.6% (1,219,000) 18.1% 19.6% Arkansas 17.5% (485,000) 16.8% 17.5% California 18.6% (6,720,000) 18.4% 18.5% Colorado 16.7% (799,000) 16.3% 16.8% Connecticut 9.9% (344,000) 10.9% 9.4% Delaware 11.8% (101,000) 12.7% 11.7% District of Columbia 11.4% (64,000) 12.8% 10.6% Florida 20.5% (3,698,000) 19.8% 20.7% Georgia 17.8% (1,658,000) 17.6% 17.6% Hawaii 8.3% (105,000) 8.5% 8.2% Idaho 14.7% (216,000) 14.7% 14.6% Illinois 13.7% (1,735,000) 13.4% 13.7% Indiana 12.3% (766,000) 13.7% 11.6% Iowa 9.4% (274,000) 8.7% 9.9% Kansas 11.8% (320,000) 10.5% 12.5% Kentucky 13.8% (569,000) 13.0% 14.6% Louisiana 19.4% (807,000) 16.9% 20.2% Maine 9.5% (125,000) 9.6% 9.1% Maryland 13.6% (761,000) 13.4% 13.8% Massachusetts 8.3% (527,000) 10.3% 7.9% Michigan 10.8% (1,075,000) 10.7% 11.0% Minnesota 8.5% (438,000) 8.2% 8.8% Mississippi 18.8% (543,000) 16.8% 19.8% Missouri 12.5% (723,000) 11.8% 12.9% Montana 16.1% (150,000) 16.9% 16.4% Nebraska 12.0% (212,000) 10.5% 12.8% Nevada 17.9% (452,000) 17.7% 18.4% New Hampshire 10.5% (138,000) 9.9% 11.0% New Jersey 15.2% (1,318,000) 14.2% 15.6% New Mexico 21.9% (425,000) 20.1% 22.7% New York 13.4% (2,551,000) 12.8% 13.6% North Carolina 16.6% (1,469,000) 15.1% 17.2% North Dakota 11.1% (68,000) 10.5% 11.1% Ohio 11.0% (1,249,000) 11.0% 10.9% Okhlahoma 18.2% (640,000) 18.5% 18.4% Oregon 16.8% (621,000) 15.9% 17.3% Pennsylvania 9.8% (1,203,000) 10.3% 9.8% Rhode Island 10.3% (108,000) 10.9% 9.7% South Carolina 16.5% (705,000) 16.0% 16.2% South Dakota 11.2% (87,000) 11.4% 11.0% Tennessee 13.9% (830,000) 13.3% 14.0% Texas 24.4% (5,687,000) 23.9% 24.8% Utah 15.6% (399,000) 14.9% 15.1% Vermont 11.0% (68,000) 11.0% 10.7% Virginia 13.6% (1,031,000) 13.1% 14.1% Washington 12.1% (770,000) 12.8% 11.6% West Virginia 14.9% (268,000) 16.5% 13.8% Wisconsin 8.8% (480,000) 9.7% 8.5% Wyoming 14.3% (73,000) 13.7% 14.1%
U.S. Census Bureau, Income, Poverty, and Health Insurance Coverage in the United States: 2007 (released August 2008), Page 25, available at http://www.census.gov/prod/2008pubs/p60-235.pdf. For a discussion of the survey’s methodology see Id. at p. 59.
In whatever state you reside, you should send a fax to your federal lawmaker and include the above information and ask why there are so many people in your particular state that remain uninsured.