September 2005
Coverage
for Health Costlier
Workers
paid 79 percent more for plans offered
by employers
from 2001 to 2003
Los
Angeles
More than 6.5 million Californians under age 65
– including nearly one million children lack
health insurance, according to a report issued
early August, 2005.
“I think that the trends we’re seeing are a clear indication that we are all headed over the cliff in not being able to afford health insurance coverage for ourselves and out families”, said E. Richard Brown, study co-author and director of the UCLA Center for Health Policy Research. Among the findings:
Uninsured
- More than 5.6 million adults under age
65 lacked health coverage for at least part of
2003, including nearly 3.3 million who had none
for the entire year. Nearly one million children
lacked coverage, including 430,000 who had none
for the whole year.
- The proportion of uninsured Californians
remained the same during the study period. Researchers
attributed that to more people buying their own
coverage and state and federal insurance programs
covering more children.
- The number of children who lacked health insurance for the entire year actually dipped 2.5 percent between 2001 and 2003. The uninsured rate for children living below the poverty line declined a “stunning” 6.9 percent, that study found.
Employer Health Insurance
- Employees paid 79 percent more for employer-provided
insurance between 2001 and 2003, now an average
of $204.33 a month. Those who buy private insurance
sometimes find lower premiums but must accept
high deductible and “skimpy coverage,”
said Brown.
- Between 2001 and 2003, the number of adults covered all year by employer-offered health insurance fell 2.1 percent; the number of children covered decreased 3.9 percent. Most losses appeared to be because workers lost jobs or couldn’t afford increases in family coverage premiums.
Medi-Cal
- The number of children covered by Medi-Cal
and Healthy Families programs funded by the state
and federal government rose 5.1 percent over the
study period.
- Among all children who were uninsured at the time they were interviewed for the study, 55 percent were eligible for Medi-Cal or Healthy Families. Among those families, about one-third of parents didn’t think their children were eligible.
More on Drug Prices on the Rise:
AARP reports wholesale prices for widely used drugs are up more than six percent. Business six
Center for Health Policy www.healthypolicy.ucla.edu Brought to you by C-DATA:
Lonnie
Johnson
C-DATA Operations Director
Note that throughout this article, when I refer to the applicable federal regulations, I’m referring to CFR 49, Parts 40 & 382; these regulations can be found in Section 5 of the AADT Company Compliance Manual or in the AADT website at www.aadrugtesing.com under links at DOT Office of Drug and Alcohol Policy and Compliance at www.dot.gov/ost/dapc or Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration at www.fmcsa.dot.gov.