Uninsured Rates in California Went Down in 2007

Uninsured Rates in California Went Down in 2007 in Group Health Insurance

Last year, we were in almost the exact opposite economic situation. The economy was expanding and unemployment rates were relatively low.

In California, the result of a healthy economy was the number residents who had no health insurance in 2007 was slightly lower than in 2005, according to a survey from the UCLA Center for Health Policy Research.

In 2005 the uninsured rate was 20.2 percent. In 2007, it was 19.5 percent, reported the Sacramento Bee. Not really a significant drop, but an improvement nonetheless.

Why the drop of uninsured? The number of people covered with a group health insurance plan went up.

It’s certainly odd to hear about a healthy economy these days, even if it was only for last year.

But not surprisingly, the survey’s authors predicted the uninsured rate likely increased due to the downturn of the economy and higher rates of unemployment.

Here’s a key insight by the lead author of survey, E. Richard Brown:

“We’re looking at the final year of an economic expansion (2007), and yet the gains in coverage were small. If the employer-based system can’t increase health insurance in good times, how will they do it in bad?”

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