The uninsured rate dropped in 20 states last year, and only two states saw statistically significant increases, according to new findings released Wednesday from the U.S. Census Bureau.
Based on the 2011 American Community Survey, the Census Bureau determined in a follow-up to its annual census report that Vermont saw the largest decline in uninsured young adults, from 24.8 percent in 2009 to 10.9 percent in 2011, Kaiser Health News reported.
California, which has the most residents without insurance, saw its uninsured rate drop from 18.5 percent in 2010 to 18.1 percent last year. Meanwhile, Texas's rate fell slightly from 23.7 percent in 2010 to 23 percent in 2011, and Florida's rate declined from 21.3 percent to 20.9 percent.
Other states with statistically significant drops in uninsured rates were Colorado, Hawaii, Idaho, Illinois, Kansas, Kentucky, Maryland, Michigan, New York, North Carolina, Ohio, South Carolina, Virginia and Wisconsin, according to the findings.
The Census Bureau said these declines were caused, in part, by an increase in consumers receiving insurance from the government. The weak economy led many individuals to Medicaid while aging baby boomers increasingly joined Medicare.
Additionally, healthcare inflation also has remained at 4 percent, the lowest rate in several years, which has discouraged employers from dropping coverage, the Philadelphia Inquirer reported.
To learn more:
- check out the Census Bureau findings
- here's the Kaiser Health News article
- read the Philadelphia Inquirer article