Who are the Uninsured? (They Could be You)
- People who lack health insurance come from all social and economic groups.
- Of the approximately 500,000 uninsured “nonelderly” in Massachusetts (those who, being under age 65, are not yet eligible for Medicare coverage):
- The majority—59 percent—are white, non-Hispanic. About 19 percent are Hispanic; 11 percent black, non-Hispanic; and 11 percent “other”
- The large majority—81 percent—are low-income, earning under 300 percent of the federal poverty level (that is, less than $31,000 a year for an individual and less than $62,000 for a family of four)
- Many are young (37 percent under age 27; 10 percent under 19)
- About 53 percent of those who work are self-employed or with small firms with fewer than 25 employees.
![Nonelderly Uninsured by Citizenship Status, 2005; more than one in five uninsured people under age 65 are not U.S. citizens. Of these, only a small fraction are believed to be undocumented (“illegal”). Non U.S. citizens are almost three-and-a-half times more likely to be uninsured as U.S. citizens, chiefly because their incomes are more likely to be low.](https://www.hsph.harvard.edu/wp-content/uploads/sites/21/2012/11/winter08masshealth2.gif)
by Citizenship Status, 2005; more than one in five uninsured people under age 65 are not U.S. citizens. Of these, only a small fraction are believed to be undocumented (“illegal”). Non U.S. citizens are almost three-and-a-half times more likely to be uninsured as U.S. citizens, chiefly because their incomes are more likely to be low.
Source
Health Insurance Coverage and the Uninsured in Massachusetts: An Update Based on 2005 Current Population Survey Data, Urban Institute 2007