UT Study: Tennessee's Uninsured Numbers Decline for Third Year

KNOXVILLE—For the third year in a row, the estimated number of uninsured people in Tennessee dropped, according to a report released today by the University of Tennessee, Knoxville, Boyd Center for Business and Economic Research, which is housed in the Haslam College of Business. The percentage of uninsured people in Tennessee—5.5 percent—is the lowest in the past 20 years. This year's survey shows that the uninsured rate for adults decreased from 8.2 percent in 2015 to 6.6 percent in 2016. This percentage change represents approximately 67,000 fewer uninsured adults over the year and approximately 218,500 fewer uninsured adults since 2013. The uninsured rate for children is 1.8 percent. The numbers are part of the "The Impact of TennCare: A Survey of Recipients, 2016," a report authored by LeAnn Luna, a Boyd Center and accounting professor, and Angela Thacker, a Boyd Center research associate. The annual report looks at the health insurance status of Tennessee residents, and collects information about recipients' use of medical facilities and gauges the extent of their satisfaction with services received. This year's survey indicates that 92 percent of respondents reported satisfaction with the TennCare program. This marks the eighth year in a row that satisfaction levels have exceeded 90 percent.