Many women still lack health insurance

Nationwide, nearly 16 million women ages 18 to 64 are uninsured, according to The Henry J. Kaiser Family Foundation. The uninsured are a problem in the United States because the lack of health coverage can influence when and whether a person will seek medical care, ultimately affecting costs and medical outcomes.

By state, the percentage of uninsured women varies considerably: Minnesota has the lowest rate of uninsured women (7.9%), while Texas has the highest rate (28.3%). Rates for low-income women (those who earn less than 200% of poverty) range from a low of 18.9% in Massachusetts to a high of 50% in Texas.

Nationally, about nine out of 10 women are covered by Medicaid. Among low-income women, only about one out of five is insured by Medicaid.

Nearly three quarters of women nationwide do have some form of health insurance, including employer-based coverage and public insurance such as Medicare and military-related coverage. New Hampshire has the highest rate of privately insured women (84.5%), whereas New Mexico has the lowest (62%).

Private health insurance is less common among low-income women, with less than half with such coverage. New Mexico and the District of Columbia had the lowest rate of low income women with private insurance (34.9%), and Hawaii had the highest rate (57.4%).