New data from the U.S. Census Bureau show that from 2019 to 2021, Maine experienced the largest decline in the uninsured rate in the U.S.
In 2019, 8% of Mainers were uninsured. By 2021, that number dipped to 5.7%. That's a drop of more than two percentage points, and was the largest decline of any state.
According to the Mills administration, the lower number of uninsured Mainers has also translated into an $84 million decrease in uncompensated care for hospitals.
Despite those achievements, an estimated 76,000 Mainers didn't have health insurance last year. And the state's uninsured rate was the highest in New England. Massachusetts had the lowest nationwide, at 2.5%, followed by Vermont, at 3.7%.
