Friday, August 27, 2004

Recession hit the state's poor, uninsured hard
But the middle class weathered it well with incomes rising

By VANESSA HO, PAUL NYHAN AND KERY MURAKAMI
SEATTLE POST-INTELLIGENCER REPORTERS

New data released by the U.S. Census Bureau yesterday painted a picture of two Washingtons, one in which the number of people without health insurance rose to historic levels and the other in which middle-class workers enjoyed a bump in income.

The survey found 14.8 percent of people in Washington had no insurance in the last two years, compared with 13.7 percent in the previous two years. That is the highest uninsured rate in a decade, up from an average of 12.9 percent during a three-year period from 1994 to 1996.

The rest is here.