About one-fourth of California women lacked health coverage in 2009, according to a study by the Public Health Institute, Payers & Providers reports (Payers & Providers, 1/5).
For the study, PHI used data from the 2009 California Health Interview Survey (PHI release, 12/19/11).
Key Findings
According to the study, 24% of California women lacked health insurance in 2009, up from 21% in 2007. Overall, 2.8 million women in California were uninsured (Payers & Providers, 1/5).
Researchers found that disparities existed based on demographic factors such as age, ethnicity and income. For example:
- 66% of white women had employer-based insurance for all of 2009, compared with 49% of black women and 38% of Latinas;
- 48% of women with the lowest family incomes were uninsured for all or part of 2009, compared with 8% of women with the highest family incomes; and
- 37% of women ages 18 to 29 had employer-sponsored coverage, the lowest level among any age bracket (PHI release, 12/19/11).
Reaction
Roberta Wyn -- lead author of the study and an affiliate of the UCLA Center for Health Policy Research -- said the federal health reform law could help reduce the rate of uninsured women.
Wyn said, "These are challenging times, and it is important to move forward in expanding coverage and access" (Payers & Providers, 1/5).