DESPITE ECONOMIC BOOM, NUMBER OF UNINSURED DROPS ONLY 4 PERCENT

42.6 Million Americans Lack Health Coverage, Including 10 Million Children

Minorities Hardest Hit by Lack of Coverage

-- Despite the longest economic boom in history, the number of Americans

without health insurance dipped just 4 percent last year, from 44.3 to 42.6

million, according to data released today by the Census Bureau. While

minorities make up 48 percent of the uninsured, 90 percent of the drop was in

non-hispanic whites, according to an analysis by Physicians for a National

Health Program.

"This discouraging data proves once again that we cannot grow our way out

of the health care crisis," said Dr. Steffie Woolhandler, Associate Professor

of Medicine at Harvard. "The market is still leaving 42.6 million Americans

(nearly one in every six persons) behind, up 5.2 million since 1992."

The 42.6 million uninsured include over 20 million women and 10 million

children -- the same number of children uninsured when the Children's Health

Insurance Program was enacted.

"The strategies of the last decade to address the problem of the

uninsured have failed," said Dr. Quentin Young, National Coordinator of

Physicians for a National Health Program. "Meanwhile, we're already spending

more than twice as much per capita on healthcare as any nation that

guarantees universal coverage."

"When I think of the uninsured, I think of my patients who have died

because they couldn't get care," said Dr. Deb Richter, a family practitioner

in Montpelier, Vermont and President of Physicians for a National Health Program.

"A four percent fall in the number of uninsured is a drop in the

bucket -- people are still dying and will continue to die until we make

health care a right" (1).

In seventeen states, the percentage of uninsured Americans increased in

the last year: Alaska, Colorado, Florida, Hawaii, Idaho, Kansas, Kentucky,

Louisiana, Nebraska, New Mexico, North Carolina, Ohio, Oregon, South

Carolina, Utah, Vermont and Washington. In six states, more than one out of

every five persons is uninsured: New Mexico (25.8%), Texas (23.3%),

Louisiana (22.5%), Arizona (21.2%), Nevada (20.7%), and California (20.3%)(2).

The number of states with less than 10% of the population

uninsured has dwindled from eleven in 1992 to just six in 1999.

"Hispanic Americans have the highest rates of uninsurance" noted Dr.

Olveen Carrasquillo of Columbia University. "Hispanics are working but

employers don't provide coverage -- that hasn't changed."

"Moreover, it's a myth that the majority of Americans have insurance paid

for by private employers," continued Dr. Carassquillo. "Excluding workers

with insurance paid for by the government or by the employers themselves, fewer

than half of Americans (43%) have insurance paid by a private employer.

Private employers pay for an even smaller share of total health spending,

just over one-fifth (21.2%)" (3).

"These may be the best of times for the economy, but they are among the

worst of times for health care," noted Dr. David Himmelstein of Harvard.

"Double digit premium increases are back, medical bills cause half of all

bankruptcies, and nobody expects a substantial reduction in the number of

uninsured anytime soon. In fact, between premium increases and/or a cooling

of the economy, we're likely to see more than 50 million uninsured in the next

few years. It's time to reopen debate over comprehensive national

health insurance."

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Notes:

(1) Mortality rates are 20 percent higher in the uninsured. "Health Insurance

and Mortality: Evidence from a National Cohort" Franks, Clancy, and Gold,

JAMA, August 11, 1993.

(2) If you use the three year moving average, Texas still ranks last in the

percentage of its population that lacks coverage (Census Bureau Release).

(3) "Private Employers Role in Providing Health Insurance: A Reappraisal"

Carrasquillo et al, New England Journal of Medicine, January 13, 1999.

_______________________

Physicians for a National Health Program is a nationwide organization based

in Chicago with over 8,000 members that supports universal access to health

care. PNHP was founded in 1987. (312) 554-0382 /www.pnhp.org

Dr. Deborah Richter is a family practitioner in Vermont and President of

Physicians for a National Health Program. Pager (802) 741-7004.

Dr. Olveen Carrasquillo is Assistant Professor at Columbia University's

College of Physicians and Surgeons (212) 305-9782.