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Posted: Wednesday, April 8th, 2009 4:41 AM HST

Report tallies uninsured in Hawaii

By Associated Press

HONOLULU (AP) — A new report says 27 percent of Hawaii residents under age 65 were without health insurance sometime during 2007-2008. The report was released by Families USA. The liberal advocacy group has worked for years to expand health care coverage. It says 195,000 of the uninsured island residents, or 66 percent of the total, didn't have health care coverage for six months or more during the two-year period. Families USA Executive Director Ron Pollack says the number of people without health coverage in Hawaii is "worse than an epidemic." Nationally, the report says 33 percent of Americans under 65 were uninsured at some point during 2007-2008. Pollack says the figures show "meaningful health care reform can no longer be kept on the back burner." (Copyright 2009 Associated Press. All rights reserved)