health care data

State No. 1 in Lack of Health Coverage

More uninsured -- 6.4 million -- than any other state

(SF Chronicle, Sept. 30) -- California is home to more people without
health insurance than any other state, according to U.S. census
figures for 2002 released today.

About 6.4 million Californians, or 18.2 percent of the state's
population, lacked coverage in 2002. Because of the state's large
population, California leads the country in the sheer number of people
going without healthcare. California ranks sixth in terms of the
percentage of a state's population without insurance.

Nationwide, 43.6 million Americans, or 15.2 percent of the country,
are living without health insurance, a number that jumped 6 percent
from 2001 as more people lost their jobs and insurance premiums
continued to rise. In 2001, about 41.2 percent or 14.6 percent of the
population was uninsured.

The numbers come out at time when healthcare is playing a growing
role on both federal and state levels. In California, the state
legislature recently passed a law that could force employers over a
certain size to cover their workers or pay into a state pool.

On the federal level, Medicare has taken center stage in
congressional healthcare debates and, judging from the Democratic
hopefuls, will become a major issue of the next presidential election.

"We know this is a huge national issue. There are millions who work
hard and play by the rules and don't get basic healthcare coverage,"
said Anthony Wright, executive director of Heath Access, a California
consumer group that advocates expanding health care coverage.

Bucking the national figures, the percentage of uninsured in
California dipped slightly from 19.5 percent in 2001. Health experts
attributed the improvement to an increase in the number of people on
government health programs, a trend that is mirrored nationally but
still doesn't compensate for the overall increase in the uninsured.

The census numbers did not include state-by-state breakdowns other
than the overall uninsured numbers. But according to California's
Managed Risk Medical Insurance Board, the number of children covered
by the Healthy Families program increased by about 100,000 from fiscal
year 2001-2002 to this past fiscal year.

MEDI-CAL NUMBERS UP

In addition, the state Department of Health Services reported the
number of people on Medi-Cal, the state's version of Medicaid,
increased by about 577, 500 from September 2001 to September 2002. But
based on the large number of uninsured Californians, many people are
falling through the cracks.

Cynthia Mason, of Alameda, has been uninsured since 1996 when an
injury forced her to leave her job running the housekeeping services
for the Park Hyatt hotel in San Francisco. She relied on disability
until it ran out last year, and has managed to get most of her health
needs met for free through services such as Operation Access and
Berkeley Primary Care, two programs that provide healthcare to the
uninsured.

Mason, 58, said she has tried to get a full-time job with benefits.
"I'm sure I'd be working if it were not for the economy," said Mason,
describing how she has joined lines of 500 people for a job. "I always
had health insurance. Everybody should have affordable health care.
It's ridiculous."

Diane Rowland, director of the Kaiser Family Foundation's
Commission on Medicaid and the Uninsured, said the 2002 census figures
were worse than she expected, and she thinks the numbers in 2003 will
be even worse. "We're looking at some hard times on the
employment-based side and equally hard times for government-funded
programs, both of which translate into an increase in the number of
the uninsured," said Rowland, adding that she didn't see any changes
on the horizon that will reverse the trend.

The recorded increase in the number of people covered by Medicaid,
the government health program for the poor, accounted for the rise
from 25.3 percent in 2001 to 25.7 percent in 2002 in the percentage of
people covered by government programs. But Rowland did not believe
Medicaid or other government programs will continue to grow in light
of outreach cutbacks and program changes because of budget tightening.

BRIGHT SPOT NOT ENOUGH

Ellen Shaffer, director of the Center for Policy Analysis, a health
research organization based in San Francisco, said Senate Bill 2, the
employer health mandate now before the governor, is a bright spot in
the state's efforts. But it won't solve all of California's woes. The
bill, by Senate President Pro Tem John Burton (D-San Francisco), would
cover an estimated 1 million of the state's 6 million uninsured, The
law, if passed, won't start covering residents until at least 2006.

With premiums on the rise, employers, who provide coverage for most
Americans, are feeling the squeeze. According to the national census
statistics, the proportion of the insured population covered by their
employers dropped from 62.6 percent in 2001 to 61. 3 percent last
year.

The consulting firm Towers Perrin released a survey on Monday
estimating employers will face a 12 percent increase in health
insurance premiums next year. While the increase was less than the 16
percent this year, the firm projected the cumulative effect of five
years of double-digit increases will mean employees will continue to
have to pay more out of their pockets for their coverage.

Other national findings in the 2002 census report included the
following:

-- The number of children without healthcare nationwide remained
unchanged at 11.6 percent nationwide or 8.5 million children.

-- Hispanics were less likely than any other ethnic group to have
insurance, with 32.4 percent uninsured. About 20 percent of African
Americans and more than 18 percent of Asians reported being uninsured
compared to 14.2 percent of whites.

-- People ages 18 to 24 years old were less likely than any other age
group to have health insurance, with 70.4 percent covered all or some
of 2002. Because of Medicare, an estimated 99.2 percent of people over
the age of 65 had health coverage.

-- The likelihood of being covered rises with income. Among households
with an annual income of less than $25,000, 76.5 percent had
healthcare insurance compared to 91.8 percent for families who bring
in $75,000 or more a year.

-------------------------------------------------------

Health Insurance Coverage by U.S. state

States with the most uninsured
Texas: 4.96 million 23.5%
New Mexico: 388,000 21.1%
Nevada: 418,000 19.7%
Alaska: 119,000 18.7%
Louisiana: 820,000 18.4%
California: 6.4 million 18.2%
Idaho: 233,000 17.9%
Florida: 2.8 million 17.3%
Oklahoma: 601,000 17.3%
Arizona: 916,000 16.8%
North Carolina: 1.37 million 16.8%
Mississippi: 465,000 16.7%

United States overall: 15.2%

States with the fewest uninsured
Wisconsin: 409,000 7.7%
Minnesota: 397,000 7.9%
South Dakota: 69,000 9.3%
Iowa: 277,000 9.5%
Vermont: 58,000 9.6%
Rhode Island: 104,000 9.8%
Delaware: 79,000 9.9%
New Hampshire: 125,000 9.9%
Hawaii: 123,000 10.0%
Massachusetts: 644,000 10.0%
Nebraska: 174,000 10.2%
Kansas: 280,000 10.5%

Source: U.S. Census, Current Population Survey 2002

-- -Kraig Grady
North American Embassy of Anaphoria Island
http://www.anaphoria.com
The Wandering Medicine Show
KXLU 88.9 FM WED 8-9PM PST

> State No. 1 in Lack of Health Coverage

Then I'm in the right place!

-Carl