Tennessee is reporting its lowest number of uninsured residents in over a decade

Health insurance tile

One year after the health insurance marketplaces launched under the Affordable Care Act, the percentage of uninsured Tennesseans is at its lowest rate in a decade, a University of Tennessee report has found.

The report shows that 7.2 percent of Tennessee’s 6.5 million residents are uninsured, a 25 percent decrease from last year. The report also shows that 2.4 percent of children in the state are without insurance, a 35 percent decrease from last year.

The annual report, which was compiled by UT’s Center for Business and Economic Research, collects information about Tennesseans’ insurance status and satisfaction with TennCare. Researchers interviewed about 5,000 heads of households by telephone between May and July.

This year’s report also found that TennCare, the state’s Medicaid program – said its third highest enrollment in its 20-year history, despite the fact that the state has opted not to expand Medicaid and in spite of widespread TennCare application problems reported since January.

Those successfully covered through TennCare, however, gave the agency a positive review. Ninety-three percent of those surveyed said they were satisfied with the program.