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January 2, 2008Who Has Insurance and Who Does Not in the District of Columbia? |
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From Urban Institute: DC fares better than the nation as a whole in the share of its population that is uninsured. Lower rates of employer-sponsored coverage are more than offset by higher rates of public coverage. The District's relatively generous Medicaid eligibility standards, and the DC HealthCare Alliance, a locally funded coverage program, contribute to the high share of publicly insured residents. These are among the findings of this data brief on insurance status in DC by age, employment, income, family status, and health status. They often have lower health status and reduced ability to work, save, pay taxes, and contribute to community life. Thus, uninsurance affects not only the uninsured individual but also the larger community. The data presented below show how insurance status relates to age, family income, work status, and health status in the District of Columbia. The differences are even greater when D.C. is compared to it neighbors, Virginia and Maryland, where employer coverage is higher than the national average and public coverage is lower (exhibit 1). Employer-sponsored coverage is lower in the District despite the fact that District employers are more likely to offer coverage to employees than employers in the rest of the nation---in large part because nearly three-quarters of people who work in D.C. live elsewhere. The lower rate of employer-sponsored coverage is more than made up for by the higher rates of public coverage.
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