Data prepared for the March of Dimes by the Bureau of the Census using Current Population Surveys from March 2000, March 2001, and March 2002, except rankings computed by the March of Dimes. Notes: State data are compiled using three-year averages because small sample sizes make single-year state data less reliable. Rankings are based on two decimal places; differences among states may not be significant. Survey changes prohibit comparison to data from earlier years.


Census Data on the Uninsured in 2001 - Key Points

Women of Childbearing Age (15-44)

• The number of uninsured women of childbearing age continued to rise in 2001, increasing by 260,000 to 11.5 million.
• In 2001, nearly one in five women of childbearing age (18.7%) went without health insurance—a higher rate than other Americans under the age of 65 (15.8%).
• Some 28 % of the 41 million uninsured Americans are women of childbearing age.
• Hispanic women in this age group are almost three times as likely as whites to be uninsured -- 38 percent compared with 13 percent. Native American (30 %, African-American (23 %) and Asian women (20 %) were also likelier than whites to be uninsured.

Uninsured Children Under 19

• In 2001, 9.2 million (12 %) of the nation’s 77 million children under 19 were uninsured.
• After several years of improvement, the proportion of children under age 19 without health insurance remained flat in 2001.
• Hispanic children were more than three times as likely as whites to be uninsured - 25 percent compared with less than 8 percent. Native American (22 %), African-American (14 %) and Asian children (12 percent) were also more likely than whites to be uninsured.
• The number and proportion of children under 19 covered by Medicaid and the State Children's Health Insurance Program grew in 2001. Some 1.5 million more children were covered through these programs than in 2000, an increase from 20 to 22 percent of all children.

State Variation

• Uninsured rates vary widely by state.^* For example for the three year period 1999-2001, Texas (23%) and New Mexico (21%) have the highest rates of uninsured children under 19, while Vermont and Rhode Island have the lowest rates, less than 5%. The US average for these years is 12.5%. In 22 states, less than 10 percent of children were uninsured.
• New Mexico (32%) and Texas (28%) also had the highest rates of uninsured women of childbearing age for the 1999-2001 period. Rhode Island (8%) and Minnesota (9%) had the lowest rates. The US average was 18%.

*  Census uses a three-year average, currently for 1999-2001, when looking at uninsured rates within states because small sample sizes make a single year's data less reliable.