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Rhode Island Value:
Percentage of women ages 19-44 not covered by private or public health insurance
Rhode Island Rank:
Additional Measures:
Appears In:
Percentage of women ages 19-44 not covered by private or public health insurance
US Value: 11.8%
Top State(s): Massachusetts, Vermont: 2.9%
Bottom State(s): Texas: 25.6%
Definition: Percentage of women ages 19-44 not covered by private or public health insurance
Data Source and Years(s): U.S. Census Bureau, American Community Survey, 2021
Suggested Citation: America's Health Rankings analysis of U.S. Census Bureau, American Community Survey, United Health Foundation, AmericasHealthRankings.org, accessed 2024.
Health insurance is a critical factor in ensuring women receive the preventive and medical care they need to achieve and maintain good health. Compared with insured women, uninsured women have more health challenges, including:
Since the implementation of the Affordable Care Act in 2010, the proportion of women of reproductive age who are uninsured has declined, and their health coverage stability has improved. States that expanded Medicaid showed greater progress in reducing their uninsured population. In 2018, the proportion of uninsured women in states that expanded Medicaid was 8%, compared with 17% in states that did not expand Medicaid.
The uninsured rate is higher among:
Common reasons for being uninsured include the cost of insurance, lack of knowledge about eligibility for free or reduced-cost insurance and falling into the coverage gap. It is estimated that 800,000 women of reproductive age were in the Medicaid coverage gap in 2019, meaning their incomes were too high for Medicaid eligibility but still below the poverty level. Medicaid expansion under the Affordable Care Act increases eligibility for nearly everyone in this group, but not all states have adopted the expansion.
Public programs that have been effective at reducing the rate of uninsured women include:
Healthy People 2030 has several health insurance-related objectives, including:
Increasing access to and coverage of high-quality maternal health services is one of five goals in the White House Blueprint for Addressing the Maternal Health Crisis, released in June 2022. The document outlines strategies the federal government should take to improve U.S. maternal and infant health outcomes.
Gunja, Munira Z., Sara R. Collins, Michelle M. Doty, and Sophie Beautel. “How the Affordable Care Act Has Helped Women Gain Insurance and Improved Their Ability to Get Health Care: Findings from the Commonwealth Fund Biennial Health Insurance Survey, 2016.” Issue Brief. The Commonwealth Fund, August 2017. https://doi.org/10.15868/socialsector.28134.
Rudowitz, Robin, Patrick Drake, Jennifer Tolbert, and Anthony Damico. “How Many Uninsured Are in the Coverage Gap and How Many Could Be Eligible If All States Adopted the Medicaid Expansion?” Issue Brief. KFF, March 31, 2023. https://www.kff.org/medicaid/issue-brief/how-many-uninsured-are-in-the-coverage-gap-and-how-many-could-be-eligible-if-all-states-adopted-the-medicaid-expansion/.
Salganicoff, Alina, Usha Ranji, Adara Beamesderfer, and Nisha Kurani. “Women and Health Care in the Early Years of the Affordable Care Act: Key Findings from the 2013 Kaiser Women’s Health Survey.” Issue Brief. KFF, May 15, 2014. https://www.kff.org/womens-health-policy/report/women-and-health-care-in-the-early-years-of-the-aca-key-findings-from-the-2013-kaiser-womens-health-survey/.
Silvestri, Gerard A., Ahmedin Jemal, K. Robin Yabroff, Stacey Fedewa, and Helmneh Sineshaw. “Cancer Outcomes Among Medicare Beneficiaries And Their Younger Uninsured Counterparts: Study Compares Cancer Outcomes among Medicare Beneficiaries and Their Younger Uninsured Counterparts.” Health Affairs 40, no. 5 (May 1, 2021): 754–62. https://doi.org/10.1377/hlthaff.2020.01839.
Solomon, Judith. “Closing the Coverage Gap Would Improve Black Maternal Health.” Washington, D.C.: Center on Budget and Policy Priorities, July 26, 2021. https://www.cbpp.org/research/health/closing-the-coverage-gap-would-improve-black-maternal-health.
Sugar, Sarah, Joel Ruhter, Sarah Gordon, Amelia Whitman, Christie Peters, Nancy De Lew, and Benjamin D. Sommers. “Health Coverage for Women Under the Affordable Care Act.” Issue Brief No. HP-2022-09. Washington, D.C.: U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, Office of the Assistant Secretary for Planning and Evaluation, March 21, 2022. https://aspe.hhs.gov/sites/default/files/documents/9082fc42757552c429d8b1c3c8949595/aspe-womens-coverage-ib.pdf.
Tolbert, Jennifer, Kendal Orgera, Natalie Singer, and Anthony Damico. “Key Facts about the Uninsured Population.” Issue Brief. KFF, December 19, 2022. https://www.kff.org/uninsured/issue-brief/key-facts-about-the-uninsured-population/.
“White House Blueprint for Addressing the Maternal Health Crisis.” Washington, D.C.: The White House, June 2022. https://www.whitehouse.gov/wp-content/uploads/2022/06/Maternal-Health-Blueprint.pdf.
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