uninsured adults

An orange felt-tip marker rests on an insurance application form.

Report: Alabama’s uninsured rate dropped significantly in 2022

BY: - September 25, 2023

The number of Alabamians without health insurance dropped significantly between 2021 and 2022, according to an American Community Survey analysis from the U.S. Census Bureau. The percentage of people in the state without insurance fell from 9.9% in 2021 to 8.8% the following year, a 1.1% percentage point decrease. That was nearly double the 0.6% […]

A nurses station in a hospital corridor. The floor is made of black and white tiles.

Hospitals plead with Congress to avert $8 billion in cuts in Medicaid funding

BY: - September 15, 2023

WASHINGTON — Health care representatives from across the United States are urging Congress to halt cuts to funding that helps hospitals care for uninsured or low-income patients who rely on Medicaid. More than 250 hospitals and health systems appealed to House and Senate leadership in a letter Thursday asking the lawmakers to avert or delay […]

Doctor holding T-shaped intrauterine birth control device (IUD) on blurred background, closeup

Contraceptive access remains an uphill battle in Alabama amid near-total abortion ban

BY: - June 30, 2023

In a state like Alabama, with a near-total abortion ban, access to contraception is critical for young women. But getting it can be difficult, and without the right resources, nearly impossible. A Centers for Disease Control and Prevention report found nearly 75% of Alabama women aged 18 to 24 in 2019 needed contraceptive services. 60% […]

A woman with a large bump on her forehead is examined by a physician in an examination room.

For uninsured people with cancer, securing care can be like spinning a roulette wheel

BY: - April 11, 2023

Eighteen months after April Adcox learned she had skin cancer, she finally returned to Charleston’s Medical University of South Carolina last May to seek treatment. By then, the reddish area along her hairline had grown from a 2-inch circle to cover nearly her entire forehead. It oozed fluid and was painful. “Honestly, I was just […]

Wanda Stands on a porch. A red door is behind her, and a white column and chair are to her right.

For uninsured older adults, waiting to turn 65 can be a matter of life or death

BY: - April 4, 2023

Wanda Bryant said turning 65 was “the best thing that happened to me.” She reached that age in January, making her eligible for Medicare.   Until her birthday, Bryant, a Birmingham retiree, had not had health insurance for 20 years. In December, a foot ailment left her reeling, and forced her to go to the UAB […]