Report Finds West Virginia, Kentucky and Michigan Have the Biggest Improvement in Uninsured Rates

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Oct 23, 2019, 06:00 ET

SEATTLE, Oct. 23, 2019 /PRNewswire/ -- QuoteWizard®, a LendingTree company, and one of the nation's leading online insurance marketplaces has released its report ranking which states have seen the biggest improvement of uninsured rates from 2008.

Key Findings

Nationwide, the number of uninsured people has decreased by 35% (12.6 million people) from 2008 to 2017.
Medicaid expansion under the Affordable Care Act lead to an increase of 111% (15.2 million people) in the number of people enrolled in Medicaid from 2008 to 2017.
West Virginia, Kentucky and Michigan saw greatest improvement in uninsured rates from 2008 to 2017.
South Dakota, Texas and Wyoming saw least improvement in uninsured rates from 2008 to 2017.
35 states have adopted Medicaid expansion, leading to the improved uninsured rates across the nation.

The driving force behind the drop in uninsured rates is likely the expansion of Medicaid under the Affordable Care Act. ACA laws increased eligibility for adults with incomes below 138% of the federal poverty level to be covered under Medicaid. While the ACA increased eligibility for Medicaid, many states have not adopted Medicaid expansion. Currently there are 35 states that have adopted some form of Medicaid expansion. It's those states who have adopted Medicaid expansion that saw the greatest decrease in uninsured people from 2008 to 2017. Among the top 20 states to decrease their rate of uninsured from 2008 to 2017, 19 have adopted Medicaid expansion.

To view the full report, visit: https://quotewizard.com/news/posts/states-with-biggest-improvement-uninsured-rates

Methodology

QuoteWizard analyzed health insurance coverage rates in all 50 states to see which states had the greatest improvement in uninsured rates. To get health insurance improvement rates, we compared uninsured rates from 2008 versus 2017 to find which states saw the greatest rate of improvement. States ranked 1 to 50, with 1 being the greatest improvement in uninsured rates and 50 being the lowest rate of improvement. We paired Medicaid increases from 2008 versus 2017 to show a correlation between states that participated in Medicaid expansion and those that saw a greater improvement in uninsured rates.

The ranking is based on the rates

Rank (decrease)	State	2008 uninsured	2017 uninsured	% decrease of uninsured	% Medicaid increase
1	West Virginia	244,100	90,800	-63%	171%
2	Kentucky	507,000	192,000	-62%	171%
3	Michigan	973,700	427,300	-56%	90%
4	Rhode Island	91,400	40,700	-55%	134%
5	Arkansas	424,200	197,800	-53%	167%
6	California	5,185,500	2,446,600	-53%	166%
7	New Mexico	334,200	158,900	-52%	212%
8	Vermont	47,700	23,000	-52%	52%
9	Oregon	492,000	243,100	-51%	276%
10	Ohio	1,097,900	542,700	-51%	119%
11	New York	1,924,400	970,900	-50%	82%
12	Louisiana	663,400	340,000	-49%	183%
13	Iowa	212,300	111,400	-48%	110%
14	Illinois	1,382,700	744,300	-46%	91%
15	New Hampshire	123,400	66,500	-46%	128%
16	Colorado	635,000	348,800	-45%	270%
17	Montana	137,700	77,200	-44%	197%
18	Minnesota	351,900	197,900	-44%	86%
19	Washington	690,600	388,400	-44%	159%
20	Wisconsin	415,100	236,100	-43%	50%
21	Maryland	519,900	301,000	-42%	204%
22	Pennsylvania	947,300	550,000	-42%	99%
23	Hawaii	70,400	41,800	-41%	123%
24	Arizona	871,400	544,700	-37%	89%
25	Delaware	69,800	43,900	-37%	51%
26	Indiana	683,300	435,300	-36%	107%
27	United States	36,238,300	23,585,300	-35%	111%
28	Connecticut	251,500	168,000	-33%	117%
29	New Jersey	873,200	586,100	-33%	116%
30	Nevada	401,100	269,300	-33%	397%
31	Massachusetts	226,000	158,700	-30%	71%
32	Alaska	110,000	79,500	-28%	236%
33	Utah	288,400	209,200	-27%	69%
34	Kansas	272,000	199,200	-27%	76%
35	Missouri	631,600	462,800	-27%	33%
36	Tennessee	709,600	543,200	-23%	62%
37	Maine	117,600	90,500	-23%	-10%
38	Idaho	202,400	157,400	-22%	150%
39	Mississippi	396,000	309,500	-22%	52%
40	Alabama	529,500	414,500	-22%	76%
41	Florida	2,916,000	2,292,900	-21%	130%
42	Georgia	1,449,600	1,155,400	-20%	83%
43	North Carolina	1,181,000	944,500	-20%	78%
44	South Carolina	594,500	477,800	-20%	78%
45	Oklahoma	551,900	452,700	-18%	46%
46	Virginia	723,500	615,200	-15%	75%
47	North Dakota	48,400	41,600	-14%	76%
48	Nebraska	151,200	130,500	-14%	49%
49	Wyoming	61,000	54,900	-10%	103%
50	Texas	4,351,000	3,925,600	-10%	89%
51	South Dakota	66,700	63,600	-5%	47%

About QuoteWizard
QuoteWizard (quotewizard.com) is an insurance comparison marketplace for consumers looking to save on insurance. QuoteWizard provides consumers with direct access to thousands of qualified agents in all 50 states, as well as major carriers, who offer personalized quotes and the opportunity to save up to 40% on auto, home, health, and life insurance. Agents and carriers, in turn, benefit from millions of highly qualified leads, calls, and traffic to their site. Based in Seattle, QuoteWizard was founded in 2006.

For more information, go to www.quotewizard.com, like our Facebook page and/or follow us on Twitter @quotewizard.

About LendingTree
LendingTree (NASDAQ: TREE) is the nation's leading online marketplace that connects consumers with the choices they need to be confident in their financial decisions. LendingTree empowers consumers to shop for financial services the same way they would shop for airline tickets or hotel stays, comparing multiple offers from a nationwide network of over 500 partners in one simple search, and can choose the option that best fits their financial needs. Services include mortgage loans, mortgage refinances, auto loans, personal loans, business loans, student refinances, credit cards and more. Through the My LendingTree platform, consumers receive free credit scores, credit monitoring, and recommendations to improve credit health. My LendingTree proactively compares consumers' credit accounts against offers on our network and notifies consumers when there is an opportunity to save money. In short, LendingTree's purpose is to help simplify financial decisions for life's meaningful moments through choice, education, and support. LendingTree, LLC is a subsidiary of LendingTree, Inc.

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SOURCE QuoteWizard