Demographics

This brief provides key data on the South and the current status of health and health coverage in the South to provide greater insight into the health needs in the region and the potential coverage gains that may be achieved through the ACA. It includes data on the uninsured, Medicaid expansion and eligibility for coverage.

This fact sheet draws on data from “Health and Health Coverage in the South: A Data Update” to highlight findings for South Carolina. The findings show the current status of health and health coverage in the state and the potential coverage gains that may be achieved through the Affordable Care Act.

Rural populations face disparities compared to metropolitan populations in health care. While rural individuals were not more likely to be uninsured than metropolitan counterparts pre-Affordable Care Act, they were poorer and less likely to have private insurance. With coverage changes in the ACA involving an expansion of Medicaid for poor and near-poor populations, decisions by states with large rural populations may cause rural residents to have disparate access to coverage, which may exacerbate cost and access barriers to health care.

This fact sheet provides an overview of population health, health coverage, and the health care delivery system in California in the era of health reform.