More Uninsured Residents in California
The number of uninsured California residents is increasing as the level of employer-sponsored health insurance plans decline, according to an annual report the California HealthCare Foundation released Monday, the Stockton Record reports. About 6.6 million California residents currently are uninsured.
The report found that more than 20% of residents younger than the Medicare eligibility age of 65 are uninsured, ranking the state seventh nationwide for the highest percentage. Employer-sponsored health coverage for residents ineligible for Medicare has decreased by about 10 percentage points over 20 years.
Furthermore, employees working for companies with 100 to 499 employees were "significantly more likely" to lose coverage than those working for larger or smaller companies, according to the report.
The report also found that:
- Nearly 40% of uninsured residents work for small employers with fewer than 25 workers;
- 71% of uninsured children live in families where the head of household works full time all year;
- About one-third of uninsured residents have family incomes of at least $50,000; and
- About 60% of California's uninsured population is Latino (Goldeen, Stockton Record, 10/31).