SYRACUSE, N.Y. – More than 25,000 Central New Yorkers are eligible for free or low-cost health insurance, but some have not enrolled because of the lingering stigma surrounding public insurance programs, according to a study released today.

The study by the United Hospital Fund and the Health Foundation of Western & Central New York found more than half of the 49,000 Central New Yorkers without coverage have incomes low enough to make them eligible for either free Medicaid coverage or the state’s Essential Plan, which costs no more than $20 a month.

Some uninsured people interviewed anonymously for the study said they are reluctant to enroll in public coverage because it’s often viewed as a “handout.”

The study also found many middle-income Central New Yorkers who are uninsured are eligible for federal tax credits that could lower the cost of health coverage purchased through the state’s health insurance exchange. But even with that financial assistance, the premiums and deductibles are still too high for many consumers, the study says.

Other uninsured Central New Yorkers interviewed for the study said they don’t need coverage and some are unaware they can get free enrollment assistance from trained counselors.

The numbers in the study are based on Census data for eight Central New York counties. The study shows in Onondaga County alone, there are 17,300 people who are uninsured. Nearly 10,000 of them are eligible for free or low-cost coverage.

The study says broader outreach, improved messaging and more generous subsidies for middle-income people could improve coverage rates.

Since the advent of the federal Affordable Care Act, also known as Obamacare, New York’s uninsured rate has been cut in half to 5.7 percent, according to the study. Yet 1.1 million New Yorkers are still uninsured.

“Despite the progress we’ve made under the Affordable Care Act, far too many New Yorkers without coverage live each day with the dread of a ruinous accident or illness,” Nora O’Brien-Suric, president of the foundation, said in a prepared statement.