The report further reveals that in all 50 states and the District of Columbia, between one-fourth and one-half of all uninsured adults were unable to see a doctor when needed in the past year because of cost.

"Characteristics of the Uninsured: A View from the States" was released today by the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation (RWJF) during a kickoff event for "Cover the Uninsured Week," which RWJF is calling the largest nonpartisan campaign in history to focus attention on the need to secure reliable, affordable health coverage for all Americans.

Uniting Americans to Call for Change

Some of the most influential organizations in the country, including the U.S. Chamber of Commerce and the AFL-CIO, are cosponsoring the Week, which occurs from May 1-8. Supported by nine former Surgeons General and Health and Human Services Secretaries appointed by both Republican and Democratic presidents, the effort is co-chaired by Presidents Gerald Ford and Jimmy Carter. Noah Wyle, star of the TV drama "ER," serves as the campaign's national spokesperson.

More than 1,000 public events will take place from coast to coast during Cover the Uninsured Week, with events taking place in every state and the District of Columbia. The effort brings together diverse national, state and community organizations to tell the nation's leaders that health coverage for all must be a top priority. Specific events are designed to help uninsured individuals get services and provide information to small business owners who are finding it difficult to provide health insurance for their employees.

Senators Orrin Hatch (R-Utah) and Ron Wyden (D-Oregon) joined in today's event to launch the Week. Their bipartisan "Health Care that Works for All Americans" Act was enacted last year. It calls for convening a national discussion on health care through multiple community meetings and online discussions, followed by hearings in Congress on the views of the American people.

"Cover the Uninsured Week is a nonpartisan effort to discuss this issue in America's neighborhoods," said Senator Hatch. "Some in Washington spend too much time blaming each other for this problem, but the American people want us to work together to solve it. That is why Senator Wyden and I reached across the aisle to establish a national discussion," he added.

"Uniting Americans to call for change is the first step toward getting real action from Washington," said Senator Wyden. "Efforts like Cover the Uninsured Week help more Americans understand how tough it is for individuals and families to be without health care coverage, and how that impacts our communities, our health care system, and our economy.

"Working together across the aisle and across the country is the only way to build a health care system that will work for everyone," he said.

Texas Has Highest Rate of Uninsured

The report released today was prepared for RWJF by researchers at the State Health Access Data Assistance Center, located at the University of Minnesota. It includes these additional findings from the survey of 18-64 year old adults:

The report uses data from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention's 2003 Behavioral Risk Factor Surveillance System Survey (BRFSS). The BRFSS is a national telephone survey of preventive and health risk behaviors. It is administered in all 50 states and D.C. to adults 18 years of age and older.

Guidance for Small Businesses

Cover the Uninsured Week has grown considerably since the campaign was first introduced in 2003. Nearly 250 national organizations and 2,500 local organizations have participated in planning events. Throughout the nation, hundreds of health and enrollment fairs will provide screenings and information to those without coverage.

Business seminars will provide opportunities for small business owners to discuss ways to provide affordable health plans for their employees. Special coverage-oriented educational forums will take place on campuses nationwide before, during and after the Week. Rabbis, pastors, priests, and imams throughout the nation will be talking about this issue and getting congregants involved in efforts to help people who are uninsured.

Press conferences are being planned in cities across the country, assembling diverse groups of local leaders to demonstrate community support for action on the issue and to release new research.

"Cover the Uninsured Week provides momentum and mobilization that will ultimately result in actions that benefit the millions of Americans who live without health coverage," said Risa Lavizzo-Mourey, M.D., M.B.A., president and CEO of the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation.

"Too many families suffer, and too many lives are lost because our nation has not taken action to address this problem. As a nation, and as individuals, we can either let 45 million of our neighbors live without health insurance, or we can come together and do something about it," Lavizzo-Mourey concluded.