Studies have shown that uninsured people are less likely to go to the doctor or dentist, have poorer health, and impose considerable costs on the hospitals that care for them when they fall ill. Most uninsured people have jobs and low incomes.

Today’s report from the Office of the Health Insurance Commissioner is the first statistical portrait of who is uninsured in Rhode Island, and why. It combines data from the U.S. Census Bureau with the results of the Rhode Island Health Interview Survey, a telephone survey last conducted in 2004.

The report identified four categories of people without health insurance, and suggests ways in each case to solve the problem:

--The largest group, 38 percent, are childless adults with incomes of less that 300 percent of the federal poverty level, such as a single person who makes less than $30,630 a year or a couple making less than $41,070. Unless they are disabled, childless adults do not qualify for Medicaid and those with incomes at this level cannot afford the premiums. Covering this group would require an expansion of Medicaid, the report said.

--The next biggest segment, 32 percent, are people who, based on income alone, are eligible for Medicaid or RIte Care but have not enrolled. Expanded outreach efforts by Medicaid could reach many of them, but some may not be eligible for other reasons beside income, such as not being citizens.

--Some 22 percent of the uninsured have incomes over 300 percent of the federal poverty level, which means making more than $62,950 for a family of four. To reach this group, the report said, the state would have to require employers to offer health insurance and individuals to buy it.

--The smallest group, 8 percent, comprises low-income children and parents, with income below 300 percent of poverty, who do not quality for RIte Care. The report suggests subsidies to make insurance affordable for this group.