Number of Uninsured Louisiana Residents Declines

The number and percentage of uninsured Louisiana residents declined last year compared to 2005 before Hurricane Katrina, according to the 2007 Louisiana Health Insurance Survey, the New Orleans Times-Picayune reports. According to the Louisiana Department of Health and Hospitals, the post-Katrina population loss accounts for part of the decline, but the biggest factors are the state's strong economy and a low unemployment rate that has resulted in more residents having employer-sponsored health coverage.

The survey found that 64,355 Louisiana children, or 5.4%, lacked insurance in 2007, compared with 97,403, or 7.6%, in 2005. The decline was attributed mainly to increasing enrollment in LaCHIP, the state's version of SCHIP. The percentage of uninsured adults decreased from 23.4% in 2005 to 21.2% this year, according to the survey. The survey found 546,348 adults in the state were uninsured in 2007 -- a decrease of 108,381 over two years (New Orleans Times-Picayune, 12/26/07).

Meanwhile, new U.S. Census Bureau data show that an increasing number of pre-Katrina residents are returning to Louisiana, the AP/Washington Post reports. According to the AP/Post, 250,000 state residents left Louisiana after the hurricane, and while 50,000 people returned to the state in the fiscal year ending July 1, 2007, "the state is far from returning to its pre-Katrina population level of 4.5 million" (Dunbar, AP/Washington Post, 12/27/08).

The Louisiana Health Insurance Survey is available online (.pdf).