Georgia’s uninsured rate fell to 12.9 percent in 2016 from 13.9 percent the previous year, according to the U.S. Census Bureau.
But the number and percentage of Georgians without health coverage remains among the highest in the nation. Its uninsured rate trails only Texas, Alaska and Oklahoma.
Nationally, the number of Americans without health insurance fell to 28.1 million in 2016, down from 29 million in 2015, said the report, released Tuesday.
The latest numbers from the Census Bureau showed the nation’s uninsured rate dropped to 8.8 percent from 9.1 percent in 2015. Both the overall national number of uninsured and the percentage are record lows.
Bill Custer, a health insurance expert at Georgia State University, linked the gains in health insurance nationally to rising incomes and lower poverty rates defined in the report.
The Census Bureau said real median household income increased by 3.2 percent between 2015 and 2016, while the official poverty rate decreased 0.8 percentage points.
In terms of health insurance, 2016 “was pretty much of a status quo year, compared with other years,’’ Custer said.
In terms of health insurance, 2016 “was pretty much of a status quo year, compared with other years,’’ Custer said Wednesday.
The states that have expanded Medicaid under the Affordable Care Act have lower rates of uninsured people, he noted. Georgia is one of 19 states that have rejected expansion, with state political leaders citing the costs involved with the move.
Read the full story at GeorgiaHealthNews.com.
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