According to an article on news.prnewswire.com the US Census Bureau just published 2006 estimates of health insurance coverage for each county in the nation.  Small Area Health Insurance Estimates (SAHIE) use a variety of sources for their survey models.

The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention uses SAHIE to support its National Breast and Cervical Cancer Early Detection Program.  Free cancer screenings are offered by the program to low income and uninsured women.

Marcus Plescia, the director of the CDC’s Division of Cancer Prevention and Control in Atlanta says that the health insurance estimates are helpful in determining the level of need for cancer screenings in counties nationwide.  The data permits them to plan various programs and figure out how to allocate resources.

This SAHIE program includes data from various different ages, gender, income, race and low income children.  SAHIE offers a snapshot of those without health insurance that can be extremely valuable to officials as they plan to assist the uninsured.