A study of health coverage shows more than twelve million Californians went without health Insurance at some point in the past two years. KPBS Reporter Tom Fudge has more.
The study by the group Families USA looked at census figures from 2007 and 2008 to determine how many people went uninsured for at least a month. In California, thirty-seven percent of the people under age sixty-five had no insurance at some point. That gave California the fifth highest rate of uninsured people among all fifty states. Researchers say they looked at two years to show how common it is to be uninsured. Anthony Wright is executive director of Health Access California. He says the lack of health insurance reflects America's economic distress.
"The condition of uninsurance is much more broadly felt, and that is a condition of financial insecurity," says Wright.
Though the study showed some people were uninsured temporarily, most of the people went uncovered for at least six months. Across the U.S., 87 million Americans had no health insurance at some point in 2007 and 2008. Tom fudge, KPBS News.
