Report: 3.5M in Illinois spent time uninsured

WASHINGTON -- A national advocacy group says more than 30 percent of Illinois residents under age 65 were uninsured at some point during 2007 and 2008.

The report released Tuesday says nearly 3.5 million Illinois residents were uninsured for at least a month during the two-year period. Most were members of working families.

The report comes from Families USA, a group working to expand health care coverage. The group based its findings on data from the Census Bureau and the Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality.

Hispanics and blacks in Illinois were much more likely to be uninsured than whites. The report says that 51 percent of Hispanics and 39 percent of blacks in Illinois spent time uninsured, compared with 25 percent of whites.