The percentage of New Jersey residents without health insurance increased significantly from 2023 to 2024, with people living below the poverty level hardest hit, according to new census data.
Uninsured rates in the Garden State jumped from 7.2% to 7.7%, according to health insurance data from the U.S. Census Bureau’s American Community Survey released Thursday.
People with incomes below 100% of the poverty threshold faced the steepest losses, as uninsured rates among that population climbed from 13.8% to 17.7%, according to census data.
“This confirms our concerns: As the pandemic’s lessons about access to affordable coverage have been left behind, barriers to health insurance have grown worse, especially for those with the lowest incomes,” said Brittany Holom-Trundy, research director of New Jersey Policy Perspective, in a statement.
“While New Jersey has taken important steps to improve access, such as the Cover All Kids program, these efforts have not addressed all gaps in the system. Combined with the coming federal Medicaid cuts, this data shows that the state urgently needs to expand coverage programs and ensure that all residents (regardless of age, race, gender, immigration status, disability, or employment status) have access to affordable coverage,” said Holom-Trundy.
New Jersey has made efforts to expand coverage, particularly for children.
In 2021, the state launched the “Cover All Kids” initiative to reach all uninsured children in New Jersey under the age of 19. The first phase of the initiative expanded coverage under NJ FamilyCare. The second phase, in 2023, expanded coverage to all income-eligible children, regardless of immigration status.
However, new data shows that uninsured rates for children under the age of 19 in New Jersey jumped from 4.1% to 4.7% in 2024, which is considered a statistically significant change.
Additionally, ininsured rates for adults ages 19 to 64 also climbed from 10.2% to 10.8%.
Gov. Phil Murphy’s office did not immediately respond Friday to a request for comment.
New Jerseyans aren’t the only ones struggling to access health insurance. Although most people in the country were insured in 2024, the national uninsured rate was 8.2%, up from 7.9% in 2023.
About one-third of states and the District of Columbia saw increases in the uninsured rate across all ages and for working-age adults. More than one-third of states saw increases in the uninsured rate for children under the age of 19.
Census officials said the unwinding of public health policies implemented during the pandemic may explain the increase in uninsured rates.
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Fewer N.J. residents have health insurance, new report shows
