Virginia Health Care Foundation | Profile of Virginia’s Uninsured

Profile of Virginia’s Uninsured

Using the most recent statistics available, the Virginia Health Care Foundation’s Profile of Virginia’s Uninsured provides a detailed picture of the Commonwealth’s uninsured. The report uses 2018 US Census data. Estimates in this report do not reflect Virginia’s Medicaid expansion, which went into effect on January 1, 2019.

10.2% of Virginians under age 65 are without medical insurance – equaling 712,000 uninsured Virginians.
The vast majority of uninsured under age 65 (64.2%) are part of working families.
About half (51.7%) are part of families with at least one full-time worker.
More than 40% of all uninsured Virginians under age 65 live below the Federal Poverty Level (FPL).
Nearly 40% of uninsured, nonelderly Virginians had a household income of ≤100% FPL (8%). About two-thirds of nonelderly uninsured Virginians had household incomes ≤200% FPL (64.4% or 458,528).
51% of all uninsured Virginians are full-time workers and their families, living in households earning ≤200% FPL.
Uninsured Virginians under age 65 represent every population in Virginia: 43.4% are white non-Hispanic, 22.2% are African American/Black, 25.4% are Hispanic, 5.3% are Asian/Pacific Islander and 3.7% identify themselves as “other” or as a member of multiple racial groups.
From 2009 – 2017, there was a 3.6 percentage point decrease in the uninsured rate among Virginia adults, ages 19 – 64 (16% to 12.4%). This is a drop from 779,000 to 623,000 adult Virginians, ages 19 – 64.
From 2009 – 2017, there was a 3.6 percentage point decrease in the uninsured rate among Virginia children, ages 0 – 18 (8% to 4.4%). This is a drop from 84,000 to 52,000 Virginia children.

For a thorough examination of the demographic characteristics of Virginia’s uninsured, see:

A summary of key findings (PowerPoint)
The report (Adobe)
The accompanying tables (Adobe)
The accompanying maps (PowerPoint)

Note: Please cite the Foundation and Urban Institute when using data from the Profile of Virginia’s Uninsured. When using PowerPoint slides from the Profile, please use the complete slide using notes and citations from the Urban Institute, clearly indicating that the data do not reflect the impact of Medicaid Expansion.

What is the impact of being uninsured?

Health suffers severely: Uninsured Americans have lower cancer survival rates, a higher likelihood of being diagnosed with diseases at later stages (including cancer), a far lower rate of receiving important screening tests, and are more likely to have preventable hospitalizations. (Source: Kaiser Family Foundation, 2019)
Do not receive the care they need: Uninsured adults in Virginia are much less likely than insured adults to receive care or to have a usual source for health care, and are more likely to have unmet health needs. (Source: Profile of Virginia’s Uninsured)
Medical needs are unmet: More than 40% of uninsured adult Virginians had an unmet need for care in the last year because of the financial difficulty of paying for health care (44.4%).
Financial Implications Can Be Significant: More than half of the uninsured in the U.S. report difficulties paying their medical bills and about 50% of unpaid medical bills of the uninsured go into collection. (Source: National Bureau of Economic Research). And, most uninsured patients do not get free or reduced cost care (73%). (Source: Kaiser Family Foundation, 2019).
Children who are uninsured fare more poorly: Children who are uninsured do not have a usual source of health care and are less likely to graduate from high school. Health coverage provides children access to needed care and promotes improved health, education, and financial success over the long-term.

The Profile of Virginia’s Uninsured was prepared for the Virginia Health Care Foundation by the Urban Institute and was completed in February 2020. For more information on the study, methodology or results, contact VHCF at 804/828-5804.