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Report: Minnesota uninsured rate still high

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Mar 7, 2012 at 7:59 am

ST. PAUL, Minn. (AP) - A new report finds the percentage of Minnesotans without health insurance did not improve nearly two years after the recession ended.

The report says Minnesota's uninsured rate in 2011 remained unchanged from 2009 at 9.1 percent, despite improvements in the state's job picture.

State Health Economist Stefan Gildemeister tells Minnesota Public Radio News any economic recovery has not produced jobs that provide employer coverage. Or, Gildemeister says, if new jobs with employer coverage were added, employer coverage may have been lost elsewhere.

Gildemeister says the insurance rate for young adults is the one bit of bright news.

The study is based on a telephone survey of more than 11,000 Minnesota households. It was conducted by the Minnesota Department of Health and the University of Minnesota School of Public Health.