More than 30 percent of residents under age 65 lacked health insurance in Miami-Dade and seven other Florida counties in 2009, according to estimates released Thursday by the U.S. Census Bureau. Other than Miami-Dade, all of the counties were rural.
The highest estimated rates of residents lacking insurance were in Hendry County, with 36.5 percent, and DeSoto County, with 36.3 percent.
Miami-Dade’s estimated rate was 33.9 percent. The other counties topping 30 percent were Franklin, Glades, Hardee, Lafayette and Okeechobee.
The Census estimates also showed that the lowest rates of uninsured residents were in five North Florida counties, with three of them in the Jacksonville area.
St. Johns County had the lowest rate of uninsured at 17.2 percent. Neighboring Clay County was at 17.8 percent, and Duval County was at 19.7 percent. Others below 20 percent were Leon County and Okaloosa County.
