41% of adults insured through work of spouse’s work
LOUISVILLE, Ky. (March 1, 2016) — The uninsured rate in Kentucky has dropped from 25 percent in 2013 to 13 percent today, the second largest drop in uninsured in the nation, according to the latest Kentucky Health Issues Poll (KHIP) released by the Foundation for a Healthy Kentucky and Cincinnati-based Interact for Health.
In 2015, 41 percent of adults 18 to 64 reported being insured through work or a spouse’s work, 35 percent had public health insurance and 10 percent reported having some other type of insurance.
Also, 8 percent of people who indicated they were insured had been without health insurance at some point in the past 12 months.
About 1 in 10 lower-income adults reported being uninsured, down from 34 percent in 2013.
The report focused on 18 to 64, because about 98 percent of Kentuckians 65 and older are insured.
“These poll results give us a point-in-time snapshot of the improving health insurance situation for Kentucky adults,” said 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.”
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.
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