The number of Americans across the U.S. without health insurance rose for the first time in a decade, according to the U.S. Census Bureau. But in Louisiana, more people are covered than ever before, bucking the national trend.
Louisiana’s uninsured rate declined slightly from 8.4% in 2017 to 8% percent in 2018, reflecting 19,000 newly covered residents, according the bureau’s annual report on health insurance coverage released Tuesday. Nationally, the uninsured rate is 8.9%.
Louisiana is one of 15 states that saw a drop in the uninsured population last year. In the southeast, it is an island among states like Texas, Mississippi, Georgia, Oklahoma and Florida, all of which had uninsured rates between 12 and 17.7%.
