State’s uninsured rate at 13%; unstable insurance declines

The percentage Kentuckians without insurance has been cut in half from 2013 to 2015 and unstable health insurance continues to decline. Those are among the findings in the latest Kentucky Health Issues Poll (KHIP) released by the Foundation for a Healthy Kentucky and Cincinnati-based Interact for Health.

KHIP highlights include:

Slightly more than 1 in 10 (13%) indicated being currently uninsured; 8% indicated they were insured but had been without health insurance at some point in the past 12 months.
Four in ten (41%) reported being insured through their employer or spouse’s employer; 35% had public health insurance; 10% reported some other type of insurance.
About 1 in 10 lower-income adults reported being uninsured which is down from 34% in 2013.

“These poll results give us a point-in-time snapshot of the improving health insurance situation for Kentucky adults,” stated Susan Zepeda, President/CEO of the Foundation for a Healthy Kentucky. “The longstanding disparity in insurance status by income level has narrowed, an important step towards health equity. Lower income adults are now about as likely as higher income adults to have some form of health insurance, and having health insurance is an important factor in gaining access to affordable, quality health care.”

Because nearly all Kentucky adults age 65 and older (98%) have some form of health coverage, this report focuses only on adults ages 18-64.

Sponsored annually by Interact for Health and the Foundation for a Healthy Kentucky, the Kentucky Health Issues Poll is a 1,600-household phone survey, polling Kentuckians for their views on key health policy issues likely to come before the legislature or local policymaking bodies. Foundation for a Healthy Kentucky is an endowed philanthropic organization whose mission is to address the unmet health care needs of Kentuckians by developing and influencing health policy, improving access to care, reducing health risks and disparities, and promoting health equity.

The complete report is here.