Oklahoma has high rate of uninsured veterans, report says
A new report from the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation and the Urban Institute shows the lack of insurance coverage among our nation’s veterans:
According to the 2010 American Community Survey (ACS), one in 10 of the nation’s 12.5 million nonelderly veterans reports neither having health insurance coverage nor using Veterans Affairs (VA) health care. While veterans are less likely than the rest of the nonelderly population to be uninsured, there are an estimated 1.3 million uninsured veterans nationwide.
Oklahoma is cited in the report as having one of the highest rates of uninsured veterans. Below, I’ve made a table with the Oklahoma data from the study:
The study mentions that there’s a range of coverage from state to state. It offers an explanation of why that might be.
A variety of factors, including Medicaid eligibility thresholds for adults, the characteristics of labor market, and the proximity of veterans to VA facilities, may contribute to variation across states in uninsurance rates among veterans.
Are you a veteran or a family member of a veteran? If you want to talk about this issue, feel free to comment on this blog. You can also reach me on Twitter at @jaclyncosgrove or via e-mail — jcosgrove AT opubco.com.
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