The national uninsured rate is back on the rise after dipping to a record low of 8.6 percent in 2016. Georgia is among the states with the highest number of uninsured, according to analysts with the personal finance website WalletHub. They compared the rates for all 50 states to compile its list of 2017’s Uninsured Rates. Jill Gonzalez says Georgia ranked 47th.
“The uninsured rate is around 13 percent, nationally it’s more like 9 percent, so obviously it’s a lot higher there,” Gonzalez said. “The children’s uninsured rate is about three points above the national average at 6 ½ percent. We’re also seeing that the uninsured rate for Hispanics is the highest in the country at about 33 percent, so a third of all Hispanics being uninsured and low income households is about 20 percent. So those numbers are particularly worrisome for Georgia.”
She says uncertainty regarding the Affordable Care Act.
“Nationally we’re seeing that the fate of the ACA is drawing people to maybe not enroll or to rethink their enrollment status. A lot of people just simple don’t know what the healthcare landscape is going to look like within the next year, within the next few years, so I think that’s why we’re seeing this creep up across the country.”
Analysts also compiled numbers for 547 American cities.
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