Nevada leads nation in uninsured children :Frank X. Mullen
By: Health Insurance
Submitted: 2009-09-29 09:50:32 | Word Count: 484
Nevada has a larger percentage of children without health insurance than any other state.
And among the 75 percent of adult Nevadans covered by employer-sponsored health insurance, family insurance premiums have soared 97 percent since 1999 as wages increased an average of 43 percent.
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That's the verdict of the Census Bureau's American Community survey released Tuesday, the first time the annual update has included health insurance data.
Nevada scored low in nearly every area, but the worst performance was in the number of uninsured children in the Silver State, twice the national average. Census numbers say one in five of Nevada's estimated 666,937 children have no health insurance, not even government-sponsored plans such as Medicaid.
"I am disappointed, but not surprised, it parallels everything else going on in the economy here, especially unemployment," said Michael P. Rodolico, executive director of Health Access Washoe County Inc. which serves uninsured residents.
"If you're not employed, it's tough to cover your kids," he said. "(Our patient visits) are up nearly 50 percent, mostly women and children, mostly uninsured, and we are struggling to keep pace."
He said the HAWC clinics had 6,225 total visits in August, compared to 4,159 visits the same month last year. Census figures show 21,423 uninsured children in Washoe County and 59,023 uninsured adults.
Even for Nevadans who are insured, the burden of health insurance premiums increases annually.
In the past year, census figures show the average annual family premium for employer-sponsored health insurance rose to $13,375 in 2009 -- a 5.5 percent increase during a recession when inflation fell by 0.7 percent.
In every state, premiums have increased far faster than wages and consumed increased portions of family budgets. Families' premiums in Nevada went up 97 percent in the last decade, outpacing wage growth of 43 percent.
Sheri Rice, executive director of Access to Healthcare Network of Nevada, which provides health care to the uninsured working poor, said the new statistics bear out what her group members already know: the numbers of uninsured people are soaring.
"Every day we have people calling in desperate need of our services," Rice said. "We're adding 200 clients a month now and these are people who can pay something but can't afford (private) insurance."
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