County Level Health Insurance Estimates Released July 27, 2010

On July 27, 2010, the U.S. Census Bureau today released 2007 estimates of health insurance coverage for each of the nation's roughly 3,140 counties. Small Area Health Insurance Estimates (SAHIE) are currently the only source for estimates of health insurance coverage status for every county in the nation.

SAHIE are based on models combining data from a variety of sources, including the Annual Social and Economic Supplement of the Current Population Survey, 2000 Census, the Census Bureau's Population Estimates Program, the County Business Patterns data set, and administrative records, such as aggregated federal tax returns and Medicaid participation records.

SAHIE provide information on health insurance coverage by age, sex, race, Hispanic origin, and income categories at the state level and by age, sex and income categories at the county level. They therefore enable local planners to determine, for instance, the counties in which low-income children are most likely to lack health insurance coverage. The data pertain to those under age 65.

Here is the link to access the data.

SAHIE are used by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention in support of its National Breast and Cervical Cancer Early Detection Program. The program provides free cancer screenings to low-income, uninsured women. The health insurance estimates assist in determining the level of need for breast and cervical cancer screening in communities nationwide.

In September, the Census Bureau will release health insurance coverage estimates from the 2009 American Community Survey (ACS). These single-year estimates will be available for counties and other geographic areas with total populations of 65,000 or more. The health insurance question was added to the 2008 ACS to permit the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services to more accurately understand state and local health insurance needs. Eventually the ACS will have health insurance coverage data for smaller areas from three-year and five-year estimates.

In Kentucky, 16.5% of people less than 66 years old were uninsured in 2007. For comparison, the following list shows the percent  of population age 65 and under who were uninsured in Kentucky counties in the same period:


Adair 20.0

Allen 16.8

Anderson 15.3

Ballard 19.2

Barren 17.2

Bath 16.4

Bell 12.4

Boone 15.5

Bourbon 17.3

Boyd 15.1

Boyle 16.7

Bracken 18.8

Breathitt 11.9

Breckinridge 21.8

Bullitt 17.1

Butler 20.5

Caldwell 16.5

Calloway 23.6

Campbell 14.0

Carlisle 24.3

Carroll 15.3

Carter 16.7

Casey 20.1

Christian 20.4

Clark 15.4

Clay 13.0

Clinton 16.7

Crittenden 20.0

Cumberland 20.1

Daviess 15.5

Edmonson 21.8

Elliott 17.0

Estill 15.5

Fayette 19.6

Fleming 18.2

Floyd 13.3

Franklin 16.3

Fulton 14.0

Gallatin 18.8

Garrard 18.8

Grant 18.3

Graves 19.9

Grayson 16.2

Green 20.8

Greenup 14.8

Hancock 15.9

Hardin 17.7

Harlan 13.1

Harrison 15.8

Hart 18.3

Henderson 15.2

Henry 21.4

Hickman 21.3

Hopkins 17.1

Jackson 17.1

Jefferson 14.3

Jessamine 19.3

Johnson 14.8

Kenton 12.5

Knott 14.5

Knox 13.0

Larue 20.5

Laurel 14.8

Lawrence 14.2

Lee 12.1

Leslie 12.6

Letcher 13.7

Lewis 16.5

Lincoln 17.7

Livingston 18.9

Logan 17.7

Lyon 22.4

McCracken 16.8

McCreary 17.5

McLean 20.7

Madison 19.0

Magoffin 13.5

Marion 18.4

Marshall 18.1

Martin 12.7

Mason 15.6

Meade 20.8

Menifee 17.3

Mercer 17.1

Metcalfe 20.0

Monroe 19.9

Montgomery 16.1

Morgan 16.7

Muhlenberg 17.8

Nelson 18.0

Nicholas 18.7

Ohio 16.8

Oldham 15.8

Owen 21.3

Owsley 11.8

Pendleton 20.2

Perry 15.0

Pike 14.5

Powell 17.3

Pulaski 15.4

Robertson 19.0

Rockcastle 15.9

Rowan 18.5

Russell 18.6

Scott 14.8

Shelby 20.2

Simpson 15.7

Spencer 19.9

Taylor 14.2

Todd 23.4

Trigg 18.2

Trimble 18.5

Union 19.1

Warren 22.3

Washington 19.7

Wayne 15.7

Webster 19.9

Whitley 13.7

Wolfe 15.4

Woodford 17.9