More than 15% of Americans are without health insurance
Nationally, 15.7 percent of Americans are without health insurance. More than a quarter of those 48.6 million people come from Texas and California. Massachusetts, which has had mandatory health coverage since 2006, has the lowest rate of uninsured residents at 3.4 percent.
At or worse than U.S. average
19.7% or more
15.7% to 19.69%
Better than U.S. average
10% to 15.69%
Less than 10%
Who needs to find insurance
Starting in 2014, there will be penalties for being uninsured. If you do not have qualifying coverage and are not exempt from the requirement to get insurance, you will face fines.
Qualifying coverage
- A plan offered by your employer
- Insurance bought on your own which covers at least 60 percent of medical expenses
- Medicare
- Medicaid or the Children's Health Insurance Program
- Tricare for service members, retirees and families
- Veteran's health program
- Older plans grandfathered in under the the health plan
Exemptions from the mandate
- Religious groups opposed to benefits covered by health insurance
- Undocumented immigrants
- Incarcerated inmates
- Members of Indian tribes
- Households that fall below the threshold to file a tax return ($10,000 for an individual or $20,000 for a family in 2013)
- Employees who pay more than 8 percent of their income for insurance after employee contributions and tax credits
Cost is biggest barrier to coverage
In a June poll by The Kaiser Family Foundation, the uninsured ages 18 to 64 said the cost of health insurance was the most common hurdle to getting coverage. Main reason for not having health insurance:
| Too expensive | 80% |
| Unemployed or unable to get coverage through employer | 26% |
| Don't need insurance | 11% |
| Can't get insurance | 4% |
| Don't know how to get insurance | 4% |
| Some other reason | 13% |
Why do the uninsured go without coverage?
Source: U.S. Census Bureau and Kaiser Family Foundation
© MCT 2013
Graphic: Danny Dougherty
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