Agency Says More N.C. Residents Added to Uninsured

New data from a North Carolina agency shows an increase in the number of uninsured residents in a six-year span.

Numbers from the North Carolina Institute of Medicine shows that 291,000 residents joined the ranks of the uninsured between 2004-2005 and 2009-2010. That represents an increase of 2.4 percent of the population. The data showed almost one out of every five non-elderly people in North Carolina did not have health insurance in 2009-2010.

Data showed two-thirds of the uninsured live in families where there is at least one full-time worker. However, the percentage of uninsured who live in families with no workers, part-time workers and only one full-time worker has increased 12 percentage points over 5 years. The agency says the rise is likely a reflection of the recession.