July 25, 2002

Proportion of North Dakotans Covered by Health Insurance Declining

In North Dakota, approximately 89 percent of the population was covered by some type of health insurance in 2000. According to the recent Economic Brief released from the North Dakota State Data Center at North Dakota State University, this proportion is down from 93.7 percent in 1990.

"This is a trend that needs to be closely watched. Individuals and families can ill afford to not have medical insurance in a time of escalating medical costs. This places them at a heightened risk of economic crisis if an unforseen medical emergency occurred," said Richard Rathge, director of the State Data Center. Nationwide, 86 percent of the population was covered by health insurance in 2000 down from 86.1 percent in 1990.

The majority of children less than 18 years of age in North Dakota were also covered by health insurance, however, the proportions are declining. In 1990, 4.3 percent of children under 18 did not have health insurance. This proportion rose to 11.9 percent in 2000. A steep rise in 1997 was due in part to a definition change which classifies Native Americans with access only to Indian Health Services as uninsured. Nationally, the proportion of children without health insurance declined from 13.0 percent in 1990 to 11.6 percent in 2000.

The information contained in this brief was obtained from the March Current Population Survey, a joint project between the Bureau of Labor Statistics and the Bureau of the Census (http://www.census.gov/hhes/www/hlthins.html.)

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Source: Richard Rathge, (701) 231-8621, richard_rathge@ndsu.nodak.edu
Editor: Tom Jirik, (701) 231-9629, tjirik@ndsuext.nodak.edu

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