Self-assessed health status and selected behavioral risk factors among persons with and without health-care coverage--United States, 1994-1995.

Persons without health-care coverage are more likely to have poor health and be at greater risk for chronic disease outcomes than persons who have health-care coverage. In the United States, the number of persons and the proportion of the population without health-care coverage has increased each year since 1987. State-specific surveillance of health-care coverage can be used to identify subgroups of the population who lack such coverage and may be at increased risk for poor health. To determine state-specific estimates of the prevalence of self-assessed health status and risk factors for chronic disease by health-care coverage status among adults aged 18-64 years, CDC analyzed data from the 1994 and 1995 Behavioral Risk Factor Surveillance System (BRFSS). This report summarizes the results of that analysis and indicates that adults without health-care coverage were more likely than those with health-care coverage to have poor health status, to be current smokers, and to be less physically active.