NASHVILLE (AP) - The estimated number of Tennesseans without health insurance has dropped again, according to a recent annual report by the University of Tennessee Center for Business and Economic Research.

The study, which was released Wednesday, said that the 6.6 percent rate of uninsured is the lowest for the state since 2004, The Commercial Appeal reported (http://bit.ly/1LmaFua).

The survey indicated that 426,301 Tennesseans are without health coverage this year, down from 472,008 last year and 611,368 in 2013. The study said that the decrease coincided with the establishment of the Health Insurance Marketplace established as part of the federal Affordable Care Act.

The number of uninsured children has dropped by more than half since 2013, and 98.5 percent of the state's children are currently insured through either public or private coverage.

According to Nashville attorney Michele Johnson, executive director of the Tennes see Justice Center, the ACA does not reach 280,000 Tennesseans who would benefit from Governor Haslam's Insure Tennessee program.

"These ordinary Tennesseans, most of whom are working at low-wage jobs, continue to struggle because of the legislature's delay in approving the governor's plan," Johnson said. "The report should prod the conscience of legislative leaders to get behind the governor for the benefit of our entire state."