California Achieves Lowest Uninsured Rate Ever in 2022
Summary: Based on 2022 California Health Interview Survey (CHIS) data, the percentage of nonelderly Californians without health insurance dropped to 6.2% in 2022, a significant decline from 2021 (7.4%). The rate of nonelderly people without coverage for a year or more also reached a historic low in 2022. Commonly called the “long-term uninsured,” their rate dropped from 5.7% in 2021 to 4.5% in 2022, another statistically significant decline.
Although there have been important gains in narrowing disparities in coverage by race and ethnicity in the state, Latino/x Californians continue to be uninsured at rates triple that of their white counterparts. Black and Asian Californians are uninsured at twice the rate of white Californians.
Fewer nonelderly Californians were uninsured in 2022 than ever before. However, the federal continuous coverage requirement for Medicaid ended in 2023. An estimated 2–3 million Californians may leave Medi-Cal as a result. How many Californians ultimately lose their Medi-Cal coverage and whether those leaving the program get connected to other coverage will have a huge impact on the state’s uninsured rate going forward.
This report is published by the California Health Care Foundation.
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