Skip to main content
SHADAC | State Health Access Data Assistance Center
CONNECT WITH US
VISIT STATE HEALTH COMPARE
  • ABOUT US
    Contact UsFeatured ProjectsOur Team
  • OUR EXPERTISE
    State and Federal Health PolicyMedicaid and CHIP PolicyDelivery and Payment System ReformHealth Coverage and Access to CareHealth Care Cost and AffordabilityHealth EquitySocial DeterminantsQuantitative and Qualitative EvaluationData Analytics and VisualizationState and Federal SurveysPopulation Health
  • BLOG & NEWS
    SHADAC BlogNewsletterIn the MediaSocial Media
  • PUBLICATIONS
    Reports & BriefsJournal ArticlesPresentationsInfographics
  • STATE PROFILES
  • ABOUT US
    Contact UsFeatured ProjectsOur Team
  • OUR EXPERTISE
    State and Federal Health PolicyMedicaid and CHIP PolicyDelivery and Payment System ReformHealth Coverage and Access to CareHealth Care Cost and AffordabilityHealth EquitySocial DeterminantsQuantitative and Qualitative EvaluationData Analytics and VisualizationState and Federal SurveysPopulation Health
  • BLOG & NEWS
    SHADAC BlogNewsletterIn the MediaSocial Media
  • PUBLICATIONS
    Reports & BriefsJournal ArticlesPresentationsInfographics
  • STATE PROFILES
ADVANCED SEARCH
DIG DEEPER
  • to
Search By Category
SHADAC | State Health Access Data Assistance Center
  • Search
  • View Menu
  • State Health Compare

Blog & News

Print
author
SHADAC Staff

p 612.624.4802
e shadac@umn.edu

facebook
twitter
linkedin
google plus

2017 ACS: Uninsured Rate Increased Nationally and in 14 States (Infographic)

September 12, 2018:

New health insurance coverage estimates from the American Community Survey (ACS) show that there was a statistically significant 0.2 percentage point increase in the national uninsured rate between 2016 and 2017. Uninsurance also increased in 14 states between 2016 and 2017, and decreased significantly in three states during the same period.

Uninsurance from 2016 to 2017

The national uninsurance rate increased from 8.6% in 2016 to 8.7% in 2017[1], with 715,000 more uninsured Americans in 2017. This is the first year since 2010 that there has been an increase in the national uninsurance rate.

Fourteen states saw significant increases in uninsurance from 2016 to 2017: Illinois, Massachusetts, Minnesota, Ohio, Florida, Iowa, Georgia, Tennessee, Oregon, Connecticut, Texas, Vermont, West Virginia, and South Carolina (Table 1). Among these states, South Carolina saw the largest percentage-point increase, at 1.0 percentage points, and Indiana, Massachusetts, Minnesota, and Ohio all experienced 0.3 percentage-point increases in uninsurance, tied for the smallest increases.

Table 1. State Increases in Uninsurance, 2016-2017
State 2016 Percent Uninsured 2017 Percent Uninsured Percentage-Point Change, 2016-2017*
Illinois 6.5 6.8 0.3
Massachusetts 2.5 2.8 0.3
Minnesota 4.1 4.4 0.3
Ohio 5.6 6.0 0.3
Florida 12.5 12.9 0.4
Iowa 4.3 4.7 0.4
Georgia 12.9 13.4 0.5
Tennessee 9.0 9.5 0.5
Oregon 6.2 6.8 0.6
Connecticut 4.9 5.5 0.6
Texas 16.6 17.3 0.7
Vermont 3.7 4.6 0.8
West Virginia 5.3 6.1 0.8
South Carolina 10.0 11.0 1.0

*Differences are calculated with unrounded numbers, which may produce different results from using the rounded values in the table.
Source: U.S. Census Bureau analysis of the American Community Survey. Health Insurance Coverage in the United States: 2017. Table 6: Percentage of People Without Health Insurance Coverage by State: 2013, 2016, and 2017. Available at https://www.census.gov/content/census/en/library/publications/2018/demo/p60-264.html?eml=gd&utm_medium=email&utm_source=govdelivery

Three states—California, Louisiana, and New York—experienced statistically significant decreases in uninsurance from 2016 to 2017. Of these states, Louisiana saw the largest percentage-point drop in uninsurance, from 10.3% to 8.4% (-1.9pp). New York experienced a drop in uninsurance from 6.1% in 2016 to 5.7% in 2017 (-0.4pp). California experienced a decrease in uninsurance from 7.3% in 2016 to 7.2% in 2017 (-0.2pp).

Uninsurance Levels in 2017

Texas continues to have the highest uninsurance rate in 2017 at 17.3%, an increase from 16.6% in 2016.

The lowest 2017 uninsurance rate was 2.8% in Massachusetts. This was an increase from 2016, when the state’s uninsurance rate was 2.5%.

Taken together, the uninsurance rate remained statistically unchanged in states that expanded Medicaid. The individual state uninsurance rates in these states ranged from a low of 2.8% in Massachusetts to a high of 13.7% in Alaska.

The uninsurance rate increased 0.4 percentage points overall in states that did not expand Medicaid. The individual state uninsurance rates ranged from a low of 5.4% in Wisconsin to a high of 17.3% in Texas.

Census Bureau Experts Will Share Insights during September 18th Webinar

On Tuesday, September 18th, SHADAC will host a webinar to examine the new 2017 ACS and CPS estimates, with technical insight provided by researchers from SHADAC and from the U.S. Census Bureau, which administers both surveys.

Speakers will discuss the new national and state estimates, and attendees will learn:

  • When to use which estimates from which survey
  • How to access the estimates via Census reports and American FactFinder
  • How to access state-level estimates from the ACS using SHADAC tables

Attendees will have an opportunity to ask questions after the speaker presentations.

Register for this event.


[1] The uninsurance estimates provided are rounded, while percentage-point changes are calculated using unrounded numbers; thus the national uninsured rate increased by 0.2 percentage points.

facebook
twitter
linkedin
google plus
Robert Wood Johnson Foundation
University of Minnesota
The State Health Access Data Assistance Center (SHADAC) is a program of the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation and a part of the Health Policy and Management Division of the School of Public Health at the University of Minnesota.
©2002-2022 Regents of the University of Minnesota. All rights reserved. The University of Minnesota is an Equal Opportunity Employer.
  • Contact Us
  • Employment
  • Privacy Policy

Stay Up To Date

Join our mailing list to receive the SHADAC newsletter and news and events announcements from SHADAC.


SUBSCRIBE
  • SHADAC on Twitter
  • SHADAC on Facebook
  • Email SHADAC
  • Contact Us
  • Employment
  • Privacy Policy