The proportion of Georgians who lacked health insurance rose to 20.5 percent in 2009, up from 17.8 percent in 2008, according to statistics released Thursday by the U.S. Census Bureau.
The new numbers gave Georgia the nation's fifth-highest percentage of uninsured residents.
Statewide, an estimated 1.9 million people had no health insurance last year.
William S. Custer, a Georgia State University professor who is an expert on insurance coverage, said the jump in Georgia's uninsured population was driven by the economic downturn.
"Georgia has more small employers and small employers are much more likely to go out of business or be affected by the economic downturn," Custer said.
Nationally, the number of Americans lacking insurance hit 50.7 million in 2009, representing 16.7 percent of the population. That rate is up from 46.3 million people in 2008, when 15.4 percent of Americans were not insured. ............(more)
The complete piece is at:
http://www.ajc.com/news/more-georgians-uninsured-in-615044.html