UMass Medical researcher explores Mass. uninsured population

Courtesy UMass Medical School researcher Dr. Michael Chin co-authored a new study on the characteristics of Massachusetts residents who are persistently uninsured.

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By Laura Finaldi

A study coauthored by UMass Medical School researcher Dr. Michael Chin found that single, young, low-income males in Massachusetts are more likely to go without health insurance for two consecutive years, in a state with the lowest rate of uninsured persons nationwide.

The study, paid for by the Blue Cross Blue Shield of Massachusetts Foundation and released this month, sought to better understand the relatively small percentage of Massachusetts adults who don’t have health insurance over time, even though some of their income levels are low enough to be eligible for free or reduced coverage. The report analyzed insurance coverage data from 2011 and 2012 tax filings to make its determinations.

The study broke down data by geographic region and found that the counties with the highest rates of full-year insurance also had the highest rates of persistent uninsurance. In Worcester County, 20,000 people were without insurance in 2011, but just 7,100 of those people were still without insurance the following year.

Statewide, 97 percent of people who had insurance for the full year in 2011 had it again in 2012, and that out of the 180,000 who were without insurance in 2011, about 60,000 remained uninsured in 2012, according to the study.