More Data on Those Without Montana Health Insurance

Non-Elderly Montanans Without Health Insurance In 2007-2008

• More than one out of three people (34.3 percent) in Montana under the age of 65 went without health insurance for all or part of the two-year period 2007-2008. Of the 279,000 uninsured Montanans, nearly three-quarters (74.2 percent) went without health coverage for six months or longer during this period.

Montana's Communities of Color Without Health Insurance

• People of racial and ethnic minorities are more likely to go without health insurance than whites. In Montana, 53.8 percent of "other" ethnic minorities were uninsured, compared to 31.7 percent of whites. (Due to the small sample size, data on African Americans and Hispanics/Latinos in Montana are not reportable.)
• Despite the fact that people of color are far more likely to be uninsured, white Montanans made up the largest category (81.4 percent) of people under the age of 65 without health insurance for all or part of the two-year period.
• The category of "other" is composed of individuals who identify themselves as American Indian, Aleut or Eskimo, Asian or Pacific Islander, or who identify themselves as a member of more than one group (e.g., white-black, white-Asian, black-Asian).

Working Montanans Without Health Insurance

• Most uninsured Montanans (78.5 percent) are members of working families.
• The remaining 21.5 percent of uninsured Montanans who were not working were either actively searching for employment or were not in the labor force because they were disabled, chronically ill, family caregivers, or not looking for employment for other reasons.

Low-Income Montanans Without Health Insurance

• Families in Montana with incomes below 200 percent of the federal poverty level ($20,800 a year for a single adult and $35,200 a year for a family of three in 2008) were much more likely to be uninsured than families with incomes at or above 200 percent of poverty.