Women, those living in households with annual incomes of less than $48,000 per year, and young adults under the age of 35 reported the greatest increases in not having health-care insurance or coverage.
Those younger than 35 reported an uninsured rate of over 21%, a 4.8% increase from two years earlier. The rate among women—while still below that of men—is among the fastest rising, increasing from 8.9% in late 2016 to 12.8% at the end of 2018.
The East region of America, which has in recent years maintained the lowest uninsured rate in the nation, is the only one of the four regions nationally whose rate is effectively unchanged since the end of 2016. The region has a 7.1% uninsured rate, the study found.
Respondents from the West, Midwest and South regions all reported uninsured rates for the fourth quarter of 2018 that represent increases of over three percentage points.
The South, which has always had the highest uninsured rate in the U.S. but has seen some of the greatest declines at the state level, has had a 3.8-point increase to 19.6%.
Losses in coverage spanned all age groups and income levels, the study found.
Both the Urban Institute and the organization funding the new study, the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation, support Medicare-for-All and single-payer reforms.