The Silver Lining
About 13 states have taken advantage of existing federal law or established their own programs to extend health insurance coverage in significant ways.
This paper focuses on state efforts to extend health insurance coverage to low-income Americans. It reviews the mechanisms available to do so and identifies 13 innovative states that have effectively pushed coverage well beyond levels required by law.
This publication is part of Assessing the New Federalism, a multiyear Urban Institute project that analyzes the transfer of responsibility — from the federal government to the states — for select social programs.
In America, 37 states have done little beyond the federally-mandated minimum to extend health insurance coverage. Uninsured rates in these states average about 16% with 30% of their low-income population and 35% of their low-income adults lacking health insurance.