Under-65 uninsured reaches 27% in Isles
Advertiser Staff
More than a quarter of Hawai'i residents under age 65 went without health insurance at some point during 2007 and 2008, according to a new report from Families USA, a group that advocates for quality, affordable healthcare for all U.S. residents.
The report shows 294,000 Hawai'i residents, or 27.1 percent of those under 65, were uninsured for at least a month during the two-year period. It also found that 195,000 of those were uninsured for at least six months during the period.
The Hawai'i figures are part of a report that found nationally at least one-third of nonelderly people were without coverage at some point during the study period. Hawai'i also had better figures when it came to those without insurance for at least a half year — here about two-thirds of the uninsured group went six months or more without insurance while nationally the figure was almost three-quarters of the group.
"At this point, almost everyone in the country has had a family member, neighbor, or friend who was uninsured — and that's why meaningful healthcare reform can no longer be kept on the back burner," said Ron Pollack, Families USA executive director.
The report also found:
Nationally, there were 86.7 million people under age 65 who went without insurance at some point during the study period.
The study differs from others that show the state has one of the lowest rates of uninsured in the nation. U.S. Census Bureau figures for 2005 show 9.7 percent of Hawai'i's population under age 65 went without insurance. Only Minnesota had fewer people who were uninsured.
