Report reveals unhealthy gap in access to care between Americans who have health coverage and those who do not

State-by-State analysis shows wignificant 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, April 26 /PRNewswire/ -- 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 one compared to people who have health coverage.

"The Coverage Gap: A State-by-State Report on Access to Care" identifies the extent of disparities in access to health care between insured and uninsured Americans. The findings confirm that not receiving needed medical care is taking a toll on the millions of Americans who do not have health coverage. Across the nation, a far greater percentage of uninsured adults report being in 'poor' or 'fair' health, compared to adults who have insurance.

The report was released today by the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation (RWJF) to kick off Cover the Uninsured Week, a nonpartisan, nationwide effort to urge U.S. leaders to make health coverage for Americans their top priority.

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.

"This report gives a warning to our state and national leaders by showing that our neighbors, friends and relatives without health coverage live sicker, and will likely die younger, than those who have insurance," said Risa Lavizzo-Mourey, M.D., M.B.A., president and CEO of the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation. "When insured people get sick, they go to the doctor and they get better. When women with insurance are in their 40s, they start getting mammograms regularly. But for people without health coverage, it's a different world. They cannot access basic care or diagnostic screenings because of the cost, so their minor illnesses become major ones. Ultimately, they may require extensive and expensive care because early care was delayed. Our nation's leaders need to realize that this is penny-wise and pound foolish and finally make health coverage for uninsured Americans their top priority. The alternative is to continue to let the health of millions of our citizens erode and let our health care system creep closer to insolvency."

Some of the most influential organizations in the country, including the U.S. Chamber of Commerce and the AFL-CIO, are cosponsoring the Week, which occurs from May 1-7. Co-chaired by Presidents Gerald Ford and Jimmy Carter, the effort is supported by 10 former U.S. Department of Health and Human Services Secretaries and Surgeons General appointed by both Republican and Democratic presidents.

An estimated 1,000 public events will take place nationwide during Cover the Uninsured Week in every state and the District of Columbia. Activities are designed to encourage people to express their concern by instantly contacting a member of Congress through the campaign Web site, http://www.covertheuninsured.org/. Event organizers will help enroll eligible adults and children in low-cost or free coverage programs, provide basic care and medical screenings, focus on the efforts of large and small businesses to provide health coverage, galvanize students on college campuses and engage faith communities in speaking out about the need for solutions.

"I have worked in health care and health policy long enough to know that usually Congress won't act until the people do," said Louis Sullivan, M.D., secretary of the HHS under President George H.W. Bush. "We need millions of Americans to call for change in order to get real action from Washington. Cover the Uninsured Week helps us understand how serious it is to live without health coverage, and underscores the terrible consequences this problem puts on families, individuals, employers and the effectiveness of our health care system. Our leaders need to rise above politics and finally address this long- standing problem."

The report released today was prepared for RWJF by researchers at the State Health Access Data Assistance Center, located at the University of Minnesota. Findings include:

Uninsured adults are unable to see a doctor and get medical care when needed.

Nationally, 41 percent of uninsured adults age 18-64 report being unable to see a doctor when needed in the past 12 months, due to cost, compared to just nine percent of adults who have health care coverage.

Disparities in access exist in every state between insured and uninsured residents.

States where the most uninsured adults report not being able to see a doctor when needed due to cost are West Virginia (57%), Oregon (56%), Kentucky (54%), Washington (48%) and Maryland (47%). States where the fewest uninsured adults report not being able to see a doctor when needed due to cost are North Dakota (24%), Montana (32%), Wisconsin (33%), Nebraska (33%) and Massachusetts (34%).

Uninsured adults are much less likely to have a personal doctor or health care provider.

Nationally, 57 percent of adults without health care coverage say they do not have a personal doctor or health care provider, compared with just 16 percent of people with health care coverage.

Adults who are uninsured are much more likely to report being in 'poor' or 'fair' health.

Nationally, the percentage of uninsured adults who say their health is 'fair' or 'poor' is nearly twice as high as adults with health coverage (23 percent vs. 12 percent).

Uninsured adults are less likely to receive screenings to detect cancer than adults with coverage.

Adults with health coverage are far more likely to have received recommended cancer screenings. Women with health coverage age 40-64, for example, are more than twice as likely to have had a mammogram within the past two years as are uninsured women (51% of insured women vs. 23% of uninsured women). States with the largest percentage of uninsured women not receiving mammograms in the past two years are Missouri (68%), Idaho (66%), North Dakota (64%), Oregon (63%), Utah (61%) and Oklahoma (61%).

The number of Americans over age 50 without health coverage is increasing.

About 7 million Americans age 50-64 are uninsured, an increase of more than 2.6 million over 10 years. The percentage of uninsured Americans age 50- 64 has increased from about 13 percent to nearly 15 percent from 1994 to 2004. Although 40 percent of adults age 50-64 without health insurance live in the South, the number of uninsured adults over age 50 in the Midwest is significantly increasing. The Midwest has more than 1.3 million uninsured adults age 50-64, an increase of nearly 535,000 in 10 years.

The analysis of health disparities between insured and uninsured adults uses data from the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention's 2004 Behavioral Risk Factor Surveillance System Survey (BRFSS). The BRFSS is a national telephone survey of preventive and health risk behaviors. It is administered in all 50 states and D.C. to adults ages 18 and over. The analysis of the number of Americans age 50-64 without coverage uses data from the U.S. Census Bureau Current Population Survey from 1994, 1995, 1999, 2000, 2004 and 2005.

Organizations sponsoring Cover the Uninsured Week include the U.S. Chamber of Commerce, AFL-CIO, Healthcare Leadership Council, AARP, United Way of America, American Medical Association, National Medical Association, American Nurses Association, Families USA, Blue Cross and Blue Shield Association, America's Health Insurance Plans, American Hospital Association, Federation of American Hospitals, Catholic Health Association of the United States, Service Employees International Union, National Alliance for Hispanic Health, The California Endowment, W.K. Kellogg Foundation and the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation.

To view the state-by-state research report, send a message to Congress, locate Cover the Uninsured Week activities or find information in English or Spanish, log on to http://www.covertheuninsured.org/.

The Robert Wood Johnson Foundation focuses on the pressing health and health care issues facing our country. As the nation's largest philanthropy devoted exclusively to improving the health and health care of all Americans, the Foundation works with a diverse group of organizations and individuals to identify solutions and achieve comprehensive, meaningful and timely change. For more than 30 years the Foundation has brought experience, commitment, and a rigorous, balanced approach to the problems that affect the health and health care of those it serves. When it comes to helping Americans lead healthier lives and get the care they need, the Foundation expects to make a difference in your lifetime. For more information, visit http://www.rwjf.org/.

Source: Robert Wood Johnson Foundation