Uninsured rates vary widely by state/county

The U.S. Census Bureau released last month 2007 estimates of health insurance coverage for its states and 3,140 counties.

Small Area Health Insurance Estimates (SAHIE) currently are the only source for estimates of health insurance coverage status for every county in the nation. SAHIE provide information on health insurance coverage by age, sex, race, and income categories at the state level and by age, sex, and income categories at the county level.

Massachusetts, which in 2006 passed a law requiring its residents to carry health insurance, had an uninsured rate of 7.8 percent in 2007. Texas had the nation's highest uninsured rate, at 26.8 percent.