More Findings on New Hampshire Health Insurance Coverage

Adults are more likely to be uninsured than children.

95 percent of children (between the age 0-17) have health insurance. Almost 90 percent of adults between the ages of 18-64 are insured.

Most of the uninsured are adults.

The majority of the 90,000 uninsured New Hampshire residents are adults - an estimated 74,000 individuals - and 18 percent - or roughly 16,000 - are children. Enrollment in public programs and private coverage has resulted in a decline in the number of uninsured children from approximately 25,000 in 1999 to 16,000 in 2001.

The uninsured are working.

Although employment-based health insurance is the major source of coverage and insures more than three quarters of the population less than 65 years of age, a significant number of workers do not have health insurance coverage. An estimated 48,509 uninsured individuals between the ages of 19 and 64 are employed. Moreover, an estimated 80 percent of the working uninsured report year-round employment.

A majority of the working uninsured are not offered employer sponsored coverage.

Fifty eight percent of the uninsured are not offered employer sponsored health coverage. Twenty three percent of uninsured individuals employed in firms that offer coverage do not meet eligibility requirements to receive health coverage. Although eligible to purchase health coverage through their employer, 19 percent of the working uninsured have chosen not to purchase coverage, primarily due to cost.

There is regional variation in uninsurance.

Counties in the Northern part of New Hampshire face significantly higher uninsurance rates than the southern counties. Carroll County, for example, had the highest rate of uninsurance in the state at 17 percent. Sullivan, Grafton, Belknap, Coos, and Stafford also experienced uninsurance rates higher than the state average of 8%.

While counties in the southern part of the state generally experienced lower uninsurance rates, they had high numbers of uninsured given the larger population in the Southern part of the state. Rockingham County experienced an uninsurance rate of approximately 6%. Hillsborough and Cheshire counties also had uninsurance rates that were lower than the state average of 8%.