A Closer Look: Health Care

“…we can no longer afford to put health care reform on hold. We can’t afford to do it.

It (this budget) includes a historic commitment to comprehensive health care reform, a down payment on the principle that we must have quality, affordable health care for every American. It’s a commitment.”

– President Barack Obama – Domestic Priorities to a Joint Session of Congress (2/24/09)

PolicyMap houses and maps a variety of indicators from Census’ Small Area Health Insurance Estimates (SAHIE) that show where uninsured populations live (and are most concentrated) across the country.  Check out the Health tab in the Add Data Layer menu to see counts and percentages of uninsured populations, by age and poverty level, in county and state level maps.  Look at this map, for example, of the working age population without health insurance.  Zoom in to get a closer look at counties in states like Texas, Louisiana, West Virginia, Oklahoma, New Mexico, Montana and Arkansas to see where some of these most burdened populations live.