The Uninsured: Top 3 Best States, Worst States

New Census Report Offers Picture of Nation's Uninsured

By DEVIN DWYER
Sept. 10, 2009

As lawmakers in Washington debate how to overhaul America's health care system, Americans are becoming poorer and more of them lack any health insurance at all.

The latest Census figures show the uninsured are most prevalent in the West (17.4 percent) and the South (18.2 percent) compared with only 11.6 percent in the Northeast and the Midwest.

(/ABC News)

The U.S. Census Bureau's annual report on income, poverty and health insurance coverage, out Thursday, showed that in 2008, median household income fell 3.6 percent, 2.5 million more Americans fell below the poverty line, and the ranks of the uninsured grew from 45.7 million in 2007 to 46.3 million.

The overall percentage of people without health coverage held steady at 15.4 percent, according to the 2009 Current Population Survey.

"The situation's grown worse over the last 12 months," said President Obama, discussing the nation's uninsured population at the White House Thursday.

Obama noted the effect of rising unemployment on insurance coverage is not fully reflected in the latest figures.

"It's estimated that the ranks of the uninsured have swelled by at least 6 million," he said.

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