Uninsured Rate in Nebraska Dropped Below 10% in 2014

A new federal report says the proportion of Nebraska residents without health insurance dropped below 10 percent last year.

The census report says 9.7 percent of residents were uninsured in 2014, down from 11.3 percent the previous year.

David Drozd of the University of Nebraska at Omaha’s Center for Public Affairs Research says the decline was small compared to the rest of the nation because the state’s uninsured rate was already low. The national uninsured rate declined from 13.3 percent in 2013 to 10.4 percent last year.

The U.S. Census Bureau says the rate dropped more in states that have expanded Medicaid coverage under the federal health care law. Nebraska has opted against the expansion.