About 7.2% of Minnesotans uninsured, same as in 2004

Article by: CHEN MAY YEE , Star Tribune
Updated: January 31, 2008 - 9:36 PM

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The proportion of Minnesotans without health insurance has steadied in recent years, after rising in the first half of the decade.

About 7.2 percent of Minnesotans, or 374,000 people, were uninsured in 2007, according to a new study by the Department of Health. That's roughly the same proportion as in 2004, the last time the survey was done.

Minnesota, which has the lowest rate of uninsured in the nation, also has a high number of those who get their insurance through their employers. However, between 2001 and 2004, employer coverage fell from 68 to 62.6 percent of the population. There was no further erosion between 2004 and 2007, said Julie Sonier, the department's director of health economics.

That could be because many employers -- rather than end health insurance -- have shifted costs to employees through higher co-pays, co-insurance and deductibles. But because researchers questioned individuals and not employers, there's no information on whether that played a part in halting the slide in employer coverage, Sonier said.

Thursday's report also continued to show that ethnic and racial minorities were more likely to be uninsured. In 2007, 14.7 percent of blacks, 16 percent of Indians and 19 percent of Hispanic Minnesotans were uninsured.

Young people were also more likely not to have insurance. Nineteen percent of adults aged 18 to 24 didn't have coverage.

The report was based on a phone survey of more than 9,700 Minnesota households.

Chen May Yee • 612-673-7434