Policymakers in New Mexico, like those in many other states, are looking for ways to build on the Affordable Care Act to stabilize and increase coverage for their constituents. To help with those efforts, we examine the characteristics of uninsured New Mexicans, highlighting populations that could benefit from targeted policies. We estimate that there are 187,000 uninsured people under age 65 in New Mexico in 2019. This means that the state’s nonelderly uninsurance rate is 10.5 percent, which is lower than the national uninsurance rate for this population (11.2 percent). New Mexico is one of 33 states that chose to expand Medicaid to low-income nondisabled adults under the Affordable Care Act, and this decision has had substantial implications for the number and characteristics of people who remain uninsured in 2019. About 8.9 percent of residents with incomes below the Medicaid eligibility threshold (138 percent of the federal poverty level) are uninsured. This income group has the lowest uninsurance rate of all income groups in New Mexico, except the wealthiest with incomes above 400 percent of federal poverty level. Conversely, in states that have not expanded Medicaid, this lowest-income group generally has the highest uninsurance rate.

Access the supplemental table showing characteristics of the nonelderly uninsured in New Mexico by PUMA group here.