According to the Kaiser Family Foundation, 6.7 million people or
one in five Californians is without health insurance, the highest
of any other state. Of this number, an alarming 1.1 million
uninsured are children. During the past two decades, the number
of uninsured people in California has risen as employer-sponsored
health insurance has declined. Being uninsured is a significant
barrier to accessing necessary and cost effective health care
services, including preventive care and treatment for chronic
conditions.
December 16, 2011California Healthcare Foundation, December 2011
Over the past two decades, California has seen an increase in the
percentage of people who are uninsured. California now has the
largest number of people without health insurance — 6.9 million —
of any state in the nation.
As many as 4.57 million Californians who previously were
uninsured or underinsured might be eligible for coverage under
the federal health reform law, researchers found.
February 15, 2011Los Angeles Times, February 15, 2011
Under the nation’s healthcare law, nearly 5 million of
California’s uninsured residents will be eligible for the
Medi-Cal health insurance program or for federal subsidies, the
UCLA report says.
With almost a third of its residents with no form of health
insurance, Shasta County tops the list of all California counties
with the highest percentage of uninsured patients, researchers
said in a new study released this week.
The number of uninsured patients treated at public hospital
systems increased 23% from 2008 to 2009, resulting in a severe
financial strain on the system that may force hospitals to close
their doors, according to the National Association of Public
Hospitals and Health Systems.
Over the past 21 years, the percent of uninsured Californians
under age 65 has continued to rise as employer-sponsored health
insurance has declined. Between 1987 and 2008, employer-sponsored
coverage declined 9%. Although Medicaid and individually
purchased coverage partially offset this decline, more than 20%
of Californians remain uninsured.
Nearly 1 in 4 Californians under age 65 had no health insurance
last year, according to a new report, as soaring unemployment
propelled vast numbers of once-covered workers into the ranks of
the uninsured. The state’s uninsured population jumped to 8.2
million in 2009, up from 6.4 million in 2007, marking the highest
number over the last decade, investigators from UCLA’s Center for
Health Policy Research said.
My mother had been in pain for sometime in her abdomen and in
her back. Eventually, the pain became so bad that I took her to
St Mary’s emergency room…
