According to the U.S. Census Bureau, and based on the CPS data for 2002 for the total population, there were 916,000 (16.8%) uninsured individuals in Arizona.[1] In spite of the downturn of the U.S. economy in 2000, the result of September 11, 2001, an increase in the unemployment rate, and the rising cost of health insurance premiums, the percentage of uninsured actually improved over the previous five years. Arizona was ranked the second highest state in the percentage of uninsured residents in 1998 (24.2%), but dropped to 11th in 2002. [1] (See Table 4.) During 1998 – 2002, there were declines in the overall percentages of uninsured persons under 65 and 18 years of age. (See Table 5 and Table 6.) This improvement can be attributed primarily to the implementation of the KidsCare program in 1998, and to the expansion of eligibility for the AHCCCS acute care program from 34% to 100% of the FPL in 2001. Figure 2 illustrates the trends in uninsured population estimates for Arizona from 1997 to 2002.
Figure 2. Arizona Uninsured Population Estimates: 1997-2002
Source: U. S. Census Bureau: Health Insurance Historical Table 4
Minorities are more likely to be uninsured than Whites. In a 2001 study, William M. Mercer, Inc. found that in Arizona, Hispanics were more than two times as likely as Whites to be uninsured (45% vs. 19%).[12] Native Americans were more likely to be uninsured than Whites (23% vs. 19%) and low-income Hispanics were uninsured at even higher rates (53%). Worse yet, legal, non-citizen Hispanics were three times more likely to be uninsured than Whites (58%) - a number that is twice as high as uninsured Hispanics who are citizens.[13]
With such a large majority of low-income workers uninsured, it is not surprising that young adults are not spared the same situation. Those aged 19-24 account for only 8% of the non-elderly population, but make up 15.8% of the total number of uninsured.[14] In fact, they are more likely to be uninsured than any other non-elderly age group. The primary reasons for the high risk of being uninsured in this age group are: 1) having lower paying jobs where insurance is not offered; 2) being too new in their jobs to be eligible; and 3) seeing themselves as invincible (the "Superman effect") and having no need for health insurance coverage.
Rural Arizonans are more likely to be older, poorer and less healthy than their urban counterparts. They are also more likely to be uninsured. Nationally, 84% of the rural uninsured are working or have workers in their families, and 73% are in families with at least one full-time worker.[15] There are fewer employer-sponsored health benefits offered in rural communities. In counties that are not adjacent to an urban area, only 55% had health insurance through an employer. Among the rural uninsured who earn less than 100% FPL, 47% are from families with full-time workers, compared to 38% of the poor urban uninsured.[15] Older adults living in rural areas - those between 45 and 64 years of age - are uninsured in greater numbers than those residing in urban areas (24% vs. 19%).[15]
The Henry J. Kaiser Family Foundation website provides detailed state level demographic health care coverage information: http://statehealthfacts.org/cgi-bin/healthfacts.cgi?action=profile.
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