Census: Many counties in Florida have high uninsured rates

TALLAHASSEE, Fla. (AP) — Nearly half of the counties in Florida have high numbers of uninsured adults according to new estimates released this week by the United States Census Bureau.

The Census data shows that 29 counties have high numbers of working-age adults without health insurance. The counties, which are largely located in central and South Florida, have uninsured rates of at least 20 percent or higher according to 2014 data released by the Census Bureau.

The urban counties of Orange, Miami-Dade and Broward were among those on the list.

DeSoto County, a rural county in the state’s interior, had the highest estimated uninsured rate at 30.8 percent.

St. John’s County, which is in northeast Florida, has an estimated 13.2 percent uninsured rate.

Over the last few years Florida’s Republican Legislature has rejected efforts to expand Medicaid eligibility.