This story is part of our new Quick Hits series. This series will bring you breaking news and short updates from throughout the state.
New figures from the U.S. Census Bureau show that the percentage of people with health insurance went up in most of the country between 2021 and 2022.
Most counties in Wyoming are following this trend, but in three counties — Albany, Johnson and Park Counties — the reverse was true. In those counties, the number and percentage of people with health insurance went down. However, Albany and Johnson still have a higher rate of insurance than the state average.
Across Wyoming, the insurance rate rose a whole percentage point, to almost 86 percent in 2022. But on the other side of the equation, that means 14 percent of Wyomingites under the age of 65 are still living without health insurance — and that percentage is significantly higher than the national average, which is 9.5 percent.
Rates of uninsurance remain higher in states like Wyoming that have not expanded Medicaid. In non-expansion states, working individuals can fall into what’s called the Medicaid Gap — where they make too much to qualify for Medicaid but they don’t make enough to qualify for the premium tax credit.
