The Uninsured
Nation
Forty-five million people in the U.S., including nearly nine million children lacked health insurance in 2007.2 More than 80% of uninsured come from working families. Uninsured workers are more likely to work for small firms and in industries where fewer employers offer coverage. Despite strong ties to the workforce, about two-thirds of the uninsured are from families with incomes below twice the poverty level ($42,406 a year for a family of four in 2007). Without an offer of coverage from their employer, private insurance is generally unaffordable for these individuals (Figure 1).2
State
Within the State of Iowa, there are 10.5% of persons with no health coverage versus 14.2% nationwide. The percentage of persons aged 18-24 with no health insurance coverage increased from 23.4% in 2000 to 29.1% in 2007 compared within persons aged 25-34 which increased 8.7% in 2000 to 13.7% in 20071
Local
The number uninsured persons increased 8.4% from 26,214 persons in 2005 to 28,412 persons in 2006 for the UWECI service area.3
Sources:
1Behavioral Risk Factor Surveillance System (BRFSS), CDC, 2007.
2Medicaid and the uninsured by the Kaiser Commission, The Henry J. Kaiser Family Foundation, September 2008
3U.S. Census Bureau – 2005, 2006 Small Area Health Insurance Estimates.
