Over Half of California's 6.3 Million Uninsured Lack Health Coverage for More Than a Year

The UCLA Center for Health Policy Research prepared this new fact sheet report as part of its participation in the Cover the Uninsured Week (CTUW) campaign - an unprecedented week long series of national and local activities taking place during the week of Monday, March 10, through Friday, March 14. The fact sheet, "Over Half of California's 6.3 Million Uninsured Lack Health Coverage for More Than a Year," was released on Monday, March 10, at the Los Angeles launch of Cover the Uninsured Week, held at the Los Angeles California Science Center.

Among the report's key findings are:

• Over 6 million children and nonelderly adults in California were uninsured for all or part of the year in 2001. Of the 6.3 million Californians who experienced uninsurance, 21.3% were uninsured for less than 6 months. Another 26.1% were uninsured for 6 to 12 months. Over half of the uninsured - 52.6%, or 3.3 million people - were uninsured for more than a year.
• There are substantial disparities in coverage stability across - age and racial and ethnic groups. Coverage also varies greatly by family income.
• Public policies and programs can extend coverage to uninsured Californians, including those who are persistently uninsured. Similar information on uninsured residents of Los Angeles County is provided in an additional table - "Los Angeles Compared To California."
• Over 2 million residents of Los Angeles were uninsured all or part of the year, 2001. Of these, 60.5% were uninsured more than 12 months.

Based on data from the 2001 California Health Interview Survey (CHIS 2001).