What accounts for differences in uninsurance rates across communities?

Using data from the 1996-97 Community Tracking Study household survey, this study examines variations in uninsurance rates across communities in the U nited States. Specifically, regression-based decomposition is used to ident ify factors that account for high rates of uninsurance in some communities. Differences in explained rates between "high uninsurance" and "low uninsur ance" communities are the result of differences in the racial/ethnic compos ition and socioeconomic status of the population (33%), differences in empl oyment characteristics (26%), and state Medicaid eligibility requirements ( 12.7%). Although higher costs are associated with a higher likelihood that individuals are uninsured, high-cost communities tend to have lower rates o f uninsurance as a result of other factors. Despite the large number of ide ntifiable factors included in the analysis, there is still a substantial am ount of unexplained regional variation in uninsurance rates.