[Seniorresources] Report on Health Coverage

[Sally Camp]

Report Reveals Unhealthy Gap in Access to Care Between Americans Who Have Health Coverage and Those Who Do Not 
State-by-State Analysis Shows Significant Disparities in Every State; Uninsured Adults in West Virginia, Oregon, and Kentucky Most Likely to Go Without Needed Care
'Cover the Uninsured Week' - Nationwide Campaign Chaired by Presidents Ford and Carter - Kicks Off with Support from 10 Former U.S. Health Secretaries and Surgeons General 

Washington, DC - A new report analyzing government data confirms that there is a significant gap in the amount of health care accessed by people who do and do not have health care coverage in every state and the District of Columbia. Nationally, uninsured adults are nearly four times more likely not to see a doctor when they need to compared to people who have health coverage. 
The report shows that the uninsured not only miss needed medical care due to cost, but they are also far more likely to miss important health screenings that can detect cancer in its earliest, most treatable stages. Such statistics are especially troubling for the uninsured population that is older, when the need for such screenings dramatically increases. 

Countering popular opinion that the uninsured are overwhelmingly young and healthy, the analysis shows that an increasing number of Americans over age 50 are finding themselves without health care coverage. According to the most recent figures, about one in six adults age 50-64 are uninsured - a total of 7 million people. The most recent Census figures show that nearly 46 million Americans have no health care coverage.


The press release can be read here:

http://covertheuninsured.org/media/releases/index.php?ReleaseID=1004

The full report (27 pages) can be read here.

http://covertheuninsured.org/media/research/CoverageGap0406.pdf