About 46,000 more Tennesseans were without health insurance last year, one of the largest increases in the rate of uninsured residents in the nation, according to a new U.S. Census Bureau report.

Tennessee’s uninsured rate rose 0.6 percent in 2018, the Census report states. Although the percentage may seem small, it tied with Alabama and Arizona for the third-largest rate increase nationwide. Only Idaho and South Dakota had larger increases.

The Census Bureau now estimates than more than 675,000 Tennesseans — or about one in 10 state residents — have no insurance coverage.

This surge of uninsured Tennesseans is part of a nationwide shift threatening to reverse years of progress on access to health insurance. The bureau reported the number of Americans with no insurance rose for the first time since the passage of the Affordable Care Act, climbing by nearly 2 million to an estimated 27.5 million. The rising number of uninsured people is attributed to enrollment drops in state Medicaid programs, such as TennCare, impacting low-income families and children the most FULL STORY HERE