Orange County Households with Gaps in Health Insurance Coverage
A substantial proportion of Orange County households have trouble sustaining uninterrupted health insurance coverage. 24% of households in Orange County include someone who has not had continuous health insurance and, therefore, has experienced a gap in coverage at some time during the past year. This figure includes both adults and children who are currently without health insurance and households, while currently insured, include at least one person who encountered a gap during the past year.
Using the U.S. Census, this means approximately 29,610 of the estimated 123,371 households in the county face the challenge of keeping health coverage continuous for all household members. In the past five years there has been no progress in reducing this proportion. 24% of Orange County residents were also without health insurance or experienced a gap in their plan at that time.
Who is more likely to face this challenge? Age and income are important factors. Over the past year, more than three in ten Orange County adults under age forty-five reside in a household in which a member has confronted a gap in health care coverage. Income is particularly relevant. 44% of low income households, that is, with yearly earnings of less than $30,000, have gone without continuous insurance.
Unfortunately, working at a paid job does not improve a resident’s chance of living in a household that is able to maintain coverage for all members. 23% of county residents who are employed live in households that experienced a gap in health insurance this past year.
Children are also affected. About one in six Orange County households with children include at least one child who has gone without continuous health insurance. This rate has not been reduced since the last study in 2002 when the rate was 13%.
