No health insurance: Statistics
- 850,000 do not have health insurance in Colorado, according to a report in September by the U.S. Census, which found 17.2 percent of the state’s population lacking insurance.
- Two-thirds of Americans filing for personal bankruptcy cite medical costs as a reason, according to a Harvard Law School survey.
- Colorado families living below 200 percent of the Federal Poverty Level – that’s an annual income of $41,000 or less and represents one quarter of the population — have little if anything to spend on health care after paying for necessary expenses, according to “The Cost of Care: Can Coloradans Afford Health Care,” commissioned by the Colorado Coalition for the Medically Underserved.
- Some 80,000 Colorado children younger than 18 are eligible for health coverage through Medicaid or Children’s Health Plan Plus, but haven’t been enrolled, according to the Colorado Health Institute.
- In the past year, Colorado has lost more than 100,000 jobs, leaving an unemployment rate of close to 8 percent – the highest in 22 years – according to the state Department of Labor.
- Colorado Gov. Bill Ritter has said he needs to cut $32.9 million from Colorado’s 138 clinics that receive government funds to deliver health care to the poor and uninsured. The Colorado Health Foundation has filled in some of that shortfall with $20 million in grants; federal stimulus money is helping to build new centers, but the cuts in state funds are making it hard for the new centers to hire doctors and nurses.
- This summer, $21 million was lopped from a pot of money meant for the uninsured, according to state budget officials. Also, cuts were made in reimbursement rates to the clinics, dental practices and pharmacies that serve the poor.
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