State Statistics for Uninsured Children Are Alarming
By Aly Adair Associated Content
Published Jun 27, 2007
The U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention's (CDC) National Center for Health Statistics (NCHS) released a new report this week showing a rise in the number of uninsured Americans from 2005 to 2006. According to the report, 2 million more Americans have no health insurance, up 6% from 2005. This brings the total number of uninsured Americans to around 43.6 million in 2006 (15% of the population). According to the report, 2 million more Americans have no health insurance, up 6% from 2005. This brings the total number of uninsured Americans to around 43.6 million in 2006 (15% of the population).
Adults aged 18-64 without health care accounted for most of the estimated rise, from 34.5 million in 2005 to 36.5 million in 2006 (20% of this age group). The increase is attributed to employers dropping expensive health insurance coverage and private health insurance coverage being too expensive. Uninsured children went up slightly from 2005 to 2006, from 6.5 million to 6.8 million (9.3% of this age group). However, from 1997 to 2006, the number of uninsured children has dropped significantly, from 10 million to 7 million. The federal program called State Children's Health Insurance Program (SCHIP) started in 1997 and is probably the reason for the 10-year drop.
Below are the statistics by state that are alarming, especially for uninsured children. If you live in a state that has a high rate of uninsured children, you should contact your state legislators and demand the state participate in the federal SCHIP program at the very least. Perhaps these states offer the SCHIP program but do not publicize it. State taxpayers are paying the burden for medical costs of their uninsured population. For more information about state coverage initiatives for children, click here. For more information about a children's health insurance program being considered in Congress right now, click here.
Also interesting, are the states with the lowest number of uninsured population of all ages. The five states with the lowest uninsured rate are geographically bunched in the Midwest and Northeast. It may be that legislators and governors from those states are more aggressive for protecting their citizens, or perhaps those states have stronger union representation for their workers.
In a report by Jo Ciavaglia at phillyBurbs.com, Pennsylvania did their own study and found that their rates are low because they enacted a comprehensive state-funded children's health program and because the state has a high percentage of senior citizens that qualify for Medicare.Congress However, the state also has strong unions that seek health benefits for workers. The governor explains that the costs of the uninsured are still high, though. The uninsured are the largest users of emergency rooms, more likely to delay medical treatment, and are disabled but haven't yet qualified for the two-year process to get Social Security Disability. Clinics for uninsured Pennsylvanians are seeing more patients with multiple jobs coming in sicker than before. The care for these chronic conditions is more complex and more costly..
States With the Highest Percentage of Uninsured Population (all ages)
23.8% Texas 20.6% Arizona 19.7% Florida 19.0% Georgia 17.7% North Carolina
States With the Highest Percentage of Uninsured Children Under 18 Years
20.1% Arizona 19.2% Texas 15.1% Florida 10.3% North Carolina 10.3% California
States With the Lowest Percentage of Uninsured Population (all ages)
7.7% Michigan 8.8% Ohio 9.6% Wisconsin 9.7% Massachusetts 10 % Pennsylvania
States With the Lowest Percentage of Uninsured Children Under 18 Years
3.2% New York 3.4% Massachusetts 3.7% Michigan 4.2% Wisconsin 4.4% Washington
In 2006, an estimated 5.8% of the uninsured population was not able to get medical care at some point during a 12-month period because of the high cost of the medical care. This is the highest number of people not able to receive medical care since 1997.
In 2004, a separate CDC survey found these to be the reasons people do not have health insurance coverage: 53.3% Cost too much 26.9% Lost their job or changed employment 14.1% Employer did not offer or the insurance company refused coverage 10.0% Medicaid benefits stopped 6.2% Ineligible due to age or leaving school 6.0% Moved, self-employed, never had coverage, did not need or want coverage 2.8% Change in marital status or death of parent
http://www.associatedcontent.com/article/294666/americans_without_health_ins urance.html
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