Having health insurance is an important factor in being able to get needed health care. According to information released today by Interact for Health and the Foundation for a Healthy Kentucky, only 13 percent of Kentucky adults lack health insurance.* Results are from the 2015 Kentucky Health Issues Poll (KHIP).
Employer-provided insurance drops; more adults have public insurance
The rate of uninsured Kentucky adults dropped by half from 25 percent in 2013 to 12 percent in 2014 as the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act went into effect, and Medicaid was expanded in Kentucky. This was the second highest drop in uninsurance in the nation. The rate remained stable at 13 percent in 2015.
“This low rate of uninsurance is very likely connected with the implementation of the Affordable Care Act in Kentucky,” says Jennifer Chubinski, Ph.D., Vice President, Innovation and Learning, Interact for Health. “It translates to improved access to health care for more than 300,000 Kentucky adults.”
After rising since 2012, the percentage of adults insured through an employer dropped in 2015. Four in 10 Kentucky adults ages 18 to 64 (41 percent) reported being insured through their employer or their spouse’s employer in 2015 compared to 50 percent in 2014.
More than 3 in 10 Kentucky adults (35 percent) received some type of public insurance in 2015. This is an increase from 29 percent in 2014. Public insurance includes Medicare, Medicaid, military benefits and combinations of the three. Kentucky is one of 28 states that expanded Medicaid eligibility in 2014 to people earning up to 138% of the Federal Poverty Level (FPL). One in 10 adults ages 18 to 64 reported having some other type of health insurance.
Unstable insurance rate continues to drop
Having continuous insurance coverage for the past 12 months is an important factor in accessing health care. This is known as stability of health insurance. KHIP found that fewer than 1 in 10 adults ages 18 to 64 who were insured at the time of KHIP (8 percent) lacked insurance sometime in the past year. Since 2011, the percentage of Kentucky adults ages 18 to 64 reporting unstable insurance has dropped significantly.
Percentage of uninsured lower-income adults continues to fall
Because Kentucky expanded Medicaid, more lower-income adults have become eligible for insurance in recent years. Since 2013, the percentage of adults ages 18 to 64 earning less than 200% FPL who are uninsured has fallen from more than 3 in 10 adults to only 1 in 10 adults. “Uninsurance rates are now about the same for all Kentucky adults regardless of income, reducing one potential barrier to receiving needed health care,” says Chubinski.
For more information about Kentuckians’ health insurance coverage and other topics, visit the health issues poll website.