U.S. Map of Public Health Insurance by County
This interactive map shows the percentage of people with Public Health Insurance. To switch between Medicare, Medicaid, or VA Health Insurance, click the buttons. The cities are depicted for context. Hover over the map to see the county, state, insurance numbers and percentages. Zoom in for more details. Scroll down for more information.
Public Health Map
The dataset represented in this map is from the U.S. Census American Community Survey from 2017 to 2023.
Each button represents the percentage of people covered by Public Health Insurance. This is the exact data represented:
- % People Insured: Percentage of people insured.
- % People with Public Insurance: Percentage of people with Public Coverage.
- % People with Medicare: Percentage of people with Medicare coverage alone or in combination.
- % People with Medicaid: Percentage of people with Medicaid/*means-tested public coverage alone or in combination.
- % People with VA: Percentage of people with Veterans Affairs health care coverage alone or in combination.
Map of Fair Market Rent in the USA
Public Health Care
Health insurance is a type of insurance in which the insurer agrees to pay for many of the healthcare costs incurred by an individual.
Public Health Insurance is "a program run by U.S. federal, state, or local governments in which people have some or all of their health care costs paid for by the government"; National Cancer Institute.
In the United States, health insurance can be divided into two categories: public and private health insurance.
Some Americans have public health insurance, which they receive through government programs at the federal, state, or local level.
The main public health insurance programs in the U.S. are Medicare, Medicaid, the Children’s Health Insurance Program (CHIP), the Indian Health Service (IHS), coverage through the Department of Veterans Affairs, and state-specific programs. Source: Tulane University.
This map does not include CHIP or IHS. Most of the children enrolled in CHIP are also on Medicaid.
IHS provides health services to 2.2 million American Indians and Alaska Natives.
If you are interested in learning more about Health Insurance, Amazon has Health Insurance.
Health Insurance helps readers learn the underlying assumptions, facts, and variables that drive decision-making and choices on the payer side.
Medicare
Medicare is a federal health insurance program for people aged 65 years or older and people with certain disabilities.
It is for U.S. citizens or permanent residents of the United States.
The program helps with the cost of health care, but it doesn’t cover all medical expenses. Source: SSA.
Medicaid
Medicaid is a public health insurance program for some individuals and families with a low income or disabilities.
This also includes children, pregnant women, elderly adults, and people with disabilities.
Medicaid is administered by states, according to federal requirements. The program is funded jointly by states and the federal government. Source: Medicaid.gov
* Medicaid is a means-tested program, meaning eligibility is limited to individuals and families with financial need based on income and assets.
VA Health Insurance
Veterans Affairs Insurance is a comprehensive healthcare system provided by the United States Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) to eligible veterans and their dependents.
Eligibility for VA Health Care is based on factors such as military service history, disability rating, and income level. Source: VA.gov
To learn more about Medicare, Amazon has The Transformation of American Health Insurance: On the Path to Medicare for All.
This book traces the historical evolution of public and private health insurance in the United States from the first Blue Cross plans in the late 1930s to reforms under the Biden administration.
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Counties with More Public Insurance
Some of the data presented may overlap, as these values are alone or in combination with other insurance.
Highest Percentage with Public Health Insurance
The counties with the highest percentage of people that have public health insurance are:
- Wolfe County, Kentucky: 82%
- Catron County, New Mexico: 81%
- Tensas Parish, Louisiana: 77%
- Kusilvak Census Area, Alaska: 75%
- Loving County, Texas: 74%
Loving County, TX is highlighted because it has appeared in several of my previous Census maps. It is a county of extremes. You can read more about it on the link above.
Highest Number of People Insured
Top Counties with people that have public health insurance:
- Los Angeles County, California
- Cook County, Illinois
- Maricopa County, Arizona
- Harris County, Texas
- Kings County, New York
Highest Percentage with Medicare
The counties with the highest percentage of people that have Medicare are:
- Loving County, Texas: 74%
- Sumter County, Florida: 62%
- Kenedy County, Texas: 53%
- Catron County, New Mexico: 46%
- McCormick County, South Carolina: 45%
Puerto Rico has some of the highest percentages of Medicare enrolled individuals, but it is not included in the map.
Highest Number of People Insured with Medicare
Top Counties with people that have Medicare:
- Los Angeles County, California
- Cook County, Illinois
- Maricopa County, Arizona
- Harris County, Texas
- Orange County, California
Highest Percentage with Medicaid
The counties with the highest percentage of people that have Medicaid are:
- Kusilvak County, Alaska: 72%
- Wolfe County, Kentucky: 65%
- Bethel Census Area, Alaska: 60%
- McKinley County, New Mexico: 55%
- Tensas Parish, Louisiana: 53%
Puerto Rico has some of the highest percentage of Medicaid enrolled individuals, but it is not included in the map.
Best Schools and Affordable Housing
Highest Number of People Insured with Medicaid
Top counties by number of people with Medicaid health insurance:
- Los Angeles County, California
- Cook County, Illinois
- Kings County, New York
- Harris County, Texas
- Maricopa County, Arizona
Highest Percentage with VA Health Insurance
The counties with the highest percentage of people that have VA health insurance are:
- Kenedy County, TX: 7.6%
- Schley County, Georgia: 3.8%
- Saguache County, Colorado: 3.1%
- Stewart County, Georgia: 2.8%
- Powell County, Montana: 2.8%
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Resources for Public Health Insurance Map
The Shapefiles for the states were downloaded from Natural Earth.
The county shapefiles were downloaded from the US Census Bureau.
The data is from the American Community Survey between 2019 and 2023 from the Census Bureau.
Made by Luz K with D3.js.
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