More Than One in Five Adults in Kentucky Uninsured in Early 2008, Poll Finds

Across Kentucky, about 23% of adults ages 18 to 64 were uninsured during the beginning of this year, according to the Kentucky Health Issues Poll, the Northern Kentucky Enquirer reports. In addition, 31% of adults in the state had been uninsured at some point in the previous 12 months.

For the poll, researchers surveyed 1,632 adults in Kentucky in January and February. The poll found that about 4.3% of adults were covered by Medicaid statewide. Northern Kentucky had the highest percentage of Medicaid beneficiaries at 8.8% and the lowest percentage of uninsured residents at 11.1%. The poll found that residents who were younger, lower-income and less educated were more likely to be uninsured than older, wealthier and college-educated adults.

The poll also found that 91% of Kentucky residents favored access to affordable, quality health care for all Americans. In addition, 72% said they would pay higher taxes or give the federal government a larger role in providing care to accomplish this.

The poll was funded by the Health Foundation of Greater Cincinnati and the Foundation for a Healthy Kentucky, and has a margin of sampling error of plus or minus 2.4 percentage points (O'Farrell, Northern Kentucky Enquirer, 4/22).