Health insurance continues to be a major problem for Americans, according to a report released this week by the US Census Bureau. The report is the most extensive estimate the Census Bureau has ever published on county-level demographic characteristics of people with and without health insurance.

For the study, researchers at the bureau’s Small Area Health Insurance Estimates division used 2005 data from all states across gender, age and income. Currently, SAHIE are the only source for county-level estimates of health insurance coverage status. SAHIE report has as sources the Annual Social and Economic Supplement of the Current Population Survey, Census 2000, the Census Bureau's Population Estimates Program, the County Business Patterns data set and administrative records, such as aggregated federal tax returns and Medicaid participation records.

“Analysts and policymakers can use this information to target outreach activities and other intervention strategies to increase coverage and access to needed health care services,” said Lynn Blewett, director of the State Health Access Data Assistance Center in Minneapolis.

Overall, about one in six people living in the US under the age of 65 had no health insurance in 2005, the report found. Those 65 and older qualify for the government’s Medicare program. Roughly, a quarter of people living in Florida, Texas and New Mexico lacked health insurance. Texas had the highest percentage of uninsured residents under the age of 65, with 26.3 percent of the population lacking health coverage, followed by New Mexico with 24.2 percent, Florida with 24.0 percent, Nevada with 20.8 percent and Louisiana with 20.6 percent. California, with a population of 31.7 million, had the most uninsured people in numeric terms with 6.5 million, representing an uninsured rate of 20.5 percent

On the other hand, only one in ten of those living in Minnesota and Hawaii were without coverage. Minnesota had the lowest rate with 9.5 percent, or 428,033 out of a population of 4.49 million.

Health insurance was influenced not only by income but also by race. The data showed that Hispanics were far less likely to have health insurance than African-Americans and white. In Texas, 40.5% of Hispanics under age 65 had no health insurance, compared with 24.3% of blacks and 15.8% of whites.

“The rates of the Hispanic population that are not insured parallel with things like their education, income and culture,” Jill Rissi, associate director for research and policy at St. Luke Health Initiative, said.

Almost 40% of Hispanics living in Arkansas, Florida, Louisiana, Mississippi, Montana, Oklahoma, Oregon, and South Carolina also had no health insurance.

The estimates are partially funded by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention in support of its National Breast and Cervical Cancer Early Detection Program.

Other information including maps and demographic information can be found on the Census Bureau Web site.