Being Uninsured: An Epidemic Across the Southern States

During my travels across the South and Southwest, I've seen faces of the uninsured firsthand. It's safe to say that being uninsured is reaching epidemic proportions from Alabama to Arizona with the numbers undoubtedly growing in tandem with rising unemployment.

You might be surprised to learn, like I was, that rates of uninsured are significantly worse in the Southwest, according to the Families USA report Americans at Risk. Texas takes the prize with 43.9% of adults under age 65 (9.3 million) going without coverage for all or part of 2007-08. New Mexico was a close second at 41.4% (.7 million), while Alabama's rate at 30.9% (1.2 million) was the lowest.

Who are the people that make up these statistics? A significant majority, approximately 80%, are working, but for low wages. Overwhelmingly, they are ethnic minorities, e.g., Latinos, African Americans, and "others" who describe themselves as a member of more than one group or American Indian, Asian, Pacific Islander, Aleut or Eskimo. On the other hand, rates of uninsured whites range from 25.7 to 29.2%.