Health Coverage and Care in the South: A Chartbook

Section 4: Health Insurance Coverage

While a broad array of factors contribute to the relatively high chronic disease rates and poor health outcomes in the South, a first step in addressing these disparities is ensuring that individuals have health coverage that enables them to access preventive and primary care and ongoing treatment to meet their health needs. Health insurance coverage facilitates timely access to health services, and being uninsured affects people’s ability to obtain needed medical care as well as their financial security. Compared to individuals in other regions, Southerners are more likely to be uninsured. Further, within the South, people of color are more likely than Whites to be uninsured. Coverage rates in the South vary by state, however, reflecting variation in demographics and the availability of health coverage options.
The Affordable Care Act has the potential to extend health coverage to many currently uninsured Southerners through an expansion of Medicaid to low-income individuals and the creation of new health insurance Marketplaces with financial assistance to help moderate-income individuals purchase private coverage. Because many southern states are not implementing the Medicaid expansion, many uninsured adults in the South will not gain a new coverage option. However, nearly half of uninsured individuals are eligible for some financial assistance to obtain coverage in 2014, largely through the Marketplace, and millions of eligible individuals have already enrolled.

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Section 4: Health Insurance Coverage

exhibits

Health Insurance Coverage of the Nonelderly Population, by Geographic Region, 2011-2012
Uninsured Rates Among Nonelderly Southerners, by State, 2011-2012
Health Insurance Coverage of Nonelderly Southerners, by Race/Ethnicity, 2011-2012
Distribution of Nonelderly Uninsured Southerners, by Race/Ethnicity, 2011-2012
Characteristics of Nonelderly Uninsured Southerners, 2011-2012
Health Insurance Coverage of Nonelderly Southerners, by Age, 2011-2012
Percent of Nonelderly Southerners with Medicaid or CHIP Coverage, 2011-2012
Current Status of State Medicaid Expansion Decisions, 2014
Median Medicaid/CHIP Eligibility Limits as a Percent of the Federal Poverty Level, by Population Group and Geographic Region, January 2014
Medicaid/CHIP Eligibility Limits for Children in Southern States as a Percent of the FPL, as of April 1, 2014
Medicaid Eligibility Limits for Parents in Southern States as a Percent of the FPL, as of April 1, 2014
Medicaid Eligibility for Childless Adults in Southern States, April 2014
Child/Adult Distribution of Uninsured Individuals Eligible for Medicaid Coverage in 2014
Regional Distribution of Uninsured Adults in the Coverage Gap, 2014
Share of Nonelderly Uninsured Adults Who Would be Eligible for the Medicaid Expansion but are in the Coverage Gap, by Race/Ethnicity, 2014
Distribution of Nonelderly Southerners in the Coverage Gap, by Race/Ethnicity, 2011-2012
Percentage Change in State and Federal Funds Due to Medicaid Expansion, 2013-2022
Eligibility for Health Coverage as of January 2014 Among Nonelderly Uninsured Southerners
State Health Insurance Marketplace Decisions, 2014
Marketplace Enrollment as a Share of the Potential Marketplace Population, by Region, as of April 19, 2014
Marketplace Enrollment in the Southern States as a Share of the Potential Marketplace Population, by State, as of April 19, 2014
Section 3: Health Status Section 5: Access to Care, Delivery Systems, and the Safety Net

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