California's new Assembly and Senate districts: geographic disparities in health insurance coverage.

A Publication of the UCLA Center for Health Policy Research More than 21% of California’s nonelderly residents—over 6 million children and adults—are without health insurance coverage for all or part of the year based on findings from the 2001 California Health Interview Survey (CHIS 2001). This uninsurance rate is one-quarter higher than the national average and the fourth highest in the nation. Within California, however, there are substantial differences geographically in uninsurance rates. This policy brief highlights the geographic disparities in uninsurance among the new California Assembly and Senate districts that were redrawn based on the 2000 Census. This policy brief is particularly relevant at this time when the lack of health insurance has moved higher on the political agendas at the state and national levels. Uninsured rates at the district level are estimates created by a small-areamethodology, with data from CHIS 2001, 2000-2002 Current Population Surveys, and the 2000 Census.