Governor Peter Shumlin says the percentage of Vermonters without health insurance has been cut almost in half in two years.
Speaking at a Monday news conference, Shumlin said the Vermont Household Health Insurance Survey found that 19,000 of the 43,000 Vermonters without insurance during the 2012 survey are now covered.
The state's uninsured rate dropped from 6.8 percent to 3.7 percent, the second-lowest rate in the country. Only 1 percent of Vermont children under 18 are not covered, the lowest rate in the country.
Shumlin says the data indicates the reason for the drop is the expansion of Medicaid eligibility and some insurance covered included in the Affordable Care Act.
Shumlin renewed his call for aggressive health care reform to help reduce the number further.
Copyright 2015 The Associated Press. All rights reserved.