Kaiser Commission study of uninsured shows dismal results

UCLA's Center for Health Policy Research surprised everyone when they reported on March 16 that nearly one in four Californians, or 8 million, lacked health insurance during 2008 and 2009. That represents an increase of nearly 2 million in just one year because of the deep recession and mass layoffs.

But California isn't alone in those dismal statistics. Based on data from The Kaiser Commission on Medicaid and the Uninsured, 19 states reported uninsured rates among non-elderly adults above 20%, and four states -- Florida (26%), Louisiana (26.5%), New Mexico (30.5%) and Texas (31.5%) -- reported results above California's 25%. The Kaiser study is based on 2007-2008 data. The 2008-2009 data won't be available until October 2010. So with the deep recession and mass layoffs, we can expect these numbers to be much higher.