MISSOURIANS URGE: MAKE HEALTH CARE COVERAGE A PRIORITY
NEARLY 336,000 MISSOURIANS ARE WORKING BUT UNINSURED
St. Louis Organizers of 'Cover the Uninsured Week' Call for Action on May 2
St. Louis, May 2 -As Cover the Uninsured Week is launched in
Missouri, a new statewide public opinion poll shows strong support for
action on behalf of America's uninsured and improving health coverage
in general. Missourians say that improving access to affordable health
insurance and coverage should be a top-tier issue for President Bush
and Congress. Respondents were asked, "In addition to concerns about
terrorism, national security, and the situation in Iraq, which ONE of
the following issues do you believe should be the next highest priority
for Congress and the President?" The top issue for Missouri voters
surveyed was "access to affordable health insurance and coverage" (30
percent), followed by "Social Security/Medicare" (28 percent), and in
third, "jobs and the economy" (21 percent).
"The people of Missouri want our leaders to improve access to
affordable health coverage for all, but the issue is still not at the
top of the political agenda," said James R. Kimmey, M.D., M.P.H.,
president and CEO of the Missouri Foundation for Health, which
commissioned the poll. "The time for making health care coverage
reliable and affordable is long overdue. Our leaders must find a way to
reduce the vulnerability we all feel about health care coverage and
work hard to find a way to ensure coverage for everyone."
The poll also found that more than one-third (37 percent) of
Missouri voters with employer-provided coverage believe it is likely
that they will be forced to drop their employer-provided coverage due
to significant increases in their own out-of-pocket costs for health
care, including deductibles, premiums and co-pays. The poll was
conducted by Public Opinion Strategies, Alexandria VA from April 9-12,
2005 and has a margin of error for a sample of 500 of +/- 4.4 percent.
The Missouri poll was released at a press conference and community
forum at the North Central Community Health Center in St. Louis as part
of Cover the Uninsured Week, 2005 local events. The community forum
featured speakers from the Missouri Foundation for Health, United Way
of Greater St. Louis, the St. Louis Rams, and the National
President-Elect of the American Medical Student Association.
The Missouri public opinion poll follows a just released study,
analyzing data from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention
which shows a significant number of working Americans in every state do
not have health care coverage, including nearly 336,000 in Missouri.
Nationally, at least 20 million working adults do not have coverage. In
8 states, at least one in five working adults is uninsured. In 39 other
states, including Missouri, at least one working adult in every 10 does
not have health care coverage. The report further reveals that in all
50 states and the District of Columbia, between one-fourth and one-half
of all uninsured adults were unable to see a doctor when needed in the
past year because of cost, including nearly 220,000 uninsured adults in
Missouri.
"Characteristics of the Uninsured: A View from the States" was
released April 27, 2005 by the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation (RWJF) at
the national Cover the Uninsured Week kick-off event. Cover the
Uninsured Week is the largest nonpartisan campaign in history to focus
attention on the need to secure reliable, affordable health coverage
for all Americans. Some of the most influential organizations in the
country, including the U.S. Chamber of Commerce and the AFL-CIO, are
cosponsoring the Week, which occurs from May 1-8. Supported by nine
former Surgeons General and Health and Human Services Secretaries
appointed by both Republican and Democratic presidents, the effort is
co-chaired by Presidents Gerald Ford and Jimmy Carter. Noah Wyle, star
of the TV drama "ER," serves as the campaign's national spokesperson.
Hundreds of public events will take place from coast to coast
during Cover the Uninsured Week, with activities taking place in every
state and the District of Columbia. The effort brings together diverse
national, state, and community organizations to tell the nation's
leaders that health coverage for all must be a top priority.
"The myth that the uninsured are able to get the care they need is
dispelled by this study," said Dr. Dolores Gunn, Director of the St.
Louis County Department of Health. "The uninsured live in a constant
state of insecurity over where to go, what to do and who to seek help
from, if they get sick. We do all we can in clinics such as ours and we
do a good job. But we know there are so many people we cannot reach.
This is not just a problem here, it's everywhere."
The national report was conducted by researchers at the State
Health Access Data Assistance Center, located at the University of
Minnesota. Additional findings, of surveyed adults ages 18-64, include:
- The problem is pervasive among workers in every state.
States with the highest rates of uninsured residents among employed
adults include Texas (27 percent), New Mexico (23 percent), Louisiana
(23 percent), Florida (22 percent), Montana (21 percent), Oklahoma (21
percent), Nevada (20 percent), and Arkansas (20 percent). States with
the lowest uninsured rates among employed adults include Minnesota (7
percent), Hawaii (9 percent), and Delaware and the District of Columbia
(9 percent). In Missouri the rate is more than 13 percent.
- Uninsured
adults are unable to see a doctor when needed. Nationally, 41 percent
of uninsured adults report being unable to see a doctor when needed in
the past 12 months due to cost, compared to just nine percent of adults
who have coverage. In Missouri, nearly 41 percent of uninsured adults
report being unable to see a doctor when needed in the past 12 months
due to cost, compared to just more than 7 percent of adults who have
coverage.
- Uninsured adults are less likely to have a
personal doctor or health care provider. Nationally, 56 percent of
adults without health care coverage say they do not have a personal
doctor or health care provider, compared with just 16 percent of people
with coverage. In Missouri, nearly 51 percent of adults without health
care coverage say they do not have a personal doctor or health care
provider, compared with more than 12 percent of people with coverage.
- Adults
who are uninsured are much more likely to report being in poor or fair
health than are adults who are insured. Nationally, one in five
uninsured adults (20 percent) say their health is fair or poor,
compared with nearly one in nine adults with health coverage (12
percent). In Missouri, about one in five uninsured adults (nearly 19
percent) say their health is fair or poor, compared with about one in
eight adults with health coverage (more than 12 percent).
The
report uses data from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention's
2003 Behavioral Risk Factor Surveillance System Survey (BRFSS). The
BRFSS is a national telephone survey of preventive and health risk
behaviors. It is administered in all 50 states and D.C. to adults 18
years of age and older.
Cover the Uninsured Week has grown considerably since the
campaign was first introduced in 2003. Nearly 250 national
organizations and 2,500 local organizations have participated in
planning the Week's events. Hundreds of health and enrollment fairs
provide screenings and information to those without coverage. Business
seminars provide opportunities for small business owners to discuss
ways to provide affordable health plans for their employees. Special
coverage-oriented educational forums take place on campuses nationwide
before, during, and after the Week. Rabbis, pastors, priests, and imams
throughout the nation will be talking about this issue and getting
congregants involved in efforts to help people who are uninsured. Press
conferences are planned in cities across the country, assembling
diverse groups of local leaders to demonstrate community support for
action on the issue and to release new research.
"Cover the Uninsured Week provides momentum and
mobilization that will ultimately result in actions that benefit the
millions of Americans who live without health coverage," said Risa
Lavizzo-Mourey, M.D., M.B.A., president and CEO of The Robert Wood
Johnson Foundation. "Too many families suffer, and too many lives are
lost because our nation has not taken action to address this problem.
As a nation, and as individuals, we can either let 45 million of our
neighbors live without health coverage, or we can come together and do
something about it."
In addition to RWJF, Cover the Uninsured Week is
being organized nationally by a diverse group of organizations
representing some of the most influential organizations in the United
States: the U.S. Chamber of Commerce, AFL-CIO, Service Employees
International Union, Healthcare Leadership Council, American Medical
Association, National Medical Association, American Nurses Association,
Blue Cross and Blue Shield Association, America's Health Insurance
Plans, American Hospital Association, Federation of American Hospitals,
Catholic Health Association of the United States, Families USA, AARP,
The United Way of America, National Council of La Raza, The California
Endowment, and the W.K. Kellogg Foundation.
To view the state-by-state research report, locate
Cover the Uninsured Week activities, or download materials in English
or Spanish, log on to www.CoverTheUninsuredWeek.org.
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