Making everyone buy health insurance is the central tenant of the pending health care overhaul, and the key issue under consideration this week during proceedings at the U.S. Supreme Court.
In the Sacramento region, roughly 245,000 adults lacked health insurance in 2010; a situation that would change dramatically if the health care overhaul is deemed constitutional and works as advertised.
These charts, updated with the latest census data, show the characteristics of uninsured adults between 18 and 64 in the Sacramento region.
Insured/uninsured: The number of uninsured in the region is roughly equivalent to the combined populations of Elk Grove and Roseville ...
Uninsured by race: Whites make up a plurality of local uninsured - but they are also the largest ethnic group in the region. More than one in four local Latino and black adults lack health insurance, compared to about one in seven local whites ...
Uninsured by Household Income: The lower middle class are most likely to be uninsured, since public programs often insure the poor.
Uninsured by age: Young adults are the most likely age group to lack insurance ...
Uninsured by education level: Nearly half of the local uninsured adult population have some college education ...
Uninsured by employment status: The recession brought a flood of newly-unemployed, uninsured residents. The government's insurance program for those between jobs - COBRA - is often criticized for its high costs.
Uninsured by place of birth: Roughly two-thirds of the local uninsured were born in the U.S.
Source: U.S. Census Bureau, 2008-2010 American Community Survey, Public Use Microdata Sample
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