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University of Wisconsin–Madison
Poverty-related issues in the news, from the Institute for Research on Poverty

Unemployment and Health Insurance Coverage – California

About 1 in 4 in California lack health insurance, a UCLA study finds, By Duke Helfand, March 16, 2010, Los Angeles Times: “Nearly 1 in 4 Californians under age 65 had no health insurance last year, according to a new report, as soaring unemployment propelled vast numbers of once-covered workers into the ranks of the uninsured. The state’s uninsured population jumped to 8.2 million in 2009, up from 6.4 million in 2007, marking the highest number over the last decade, investigators from UCLA’s Center for Health Policy Research said. People who were uninsured for part or all of 2009 accounted for 24.3% of California’s population under age 65 — a dramatic increase from 2007 driven largely by Californians who lost employer-sponsored health insurance, particularly over the last year…”