California’s Rate of Uninsured Higher Than Nation’s
Californians are significantly more likely than other Americans to lack health insurance, even though HMO premiums are generally lower in the state than elsewhere, a study released Monday found.
Excluding residents 65 and older, 24.4% of Californians had no coverage, compared to 18.3% nationwide, researchers reported.
Nearly 21% of children are uninsured here, compared with 15.5% nationally. And almost 40% of California Latinos have no health coverage, slightly higher than the national figure.
The study was conducted by researchers at UC Berkeley’s Center for Health and Public Policy Studies and the Henry J. Kaiser Family Foundation. The foundation is independent from Kaiser Permanente, the state’s largest health maintenance organization.
The report found that by many measures, California’s health care system fares poorly when compared to the rest of the United States. More than 17 million Californians are covered by HMOs, more than in any other state, it noted.
Among key findings:
* In all, 7.3 million Californians lack coverage, and the state trails the rest of the nation in its efforts to bring children into Healthy Families, a state program covering low-income youngsters.
* The number of people covered by Medi-Cal, the federal-state health program for low-income residents, is declining.
* Far fewer companies in California offer their workers coverage than employers in the rest of the country.
* California workers who do get insurance through employers are more likely than those in other states to receive coverage for abortion and contraceptives.
* Unmarried couples in California are more likely to receive health benefits in California than workers elsewhere.
The report does not address in detail the causes of California’s health insurance shortcomings, but notes that they persist in spite of a booming economy.
