Tuesday, November 5, 2013

Colorado Health Institute

Colorado Health Institute surveyed 10,000 Colorado households and just released its report. The survey will be taken again in 2015 and 2017 . The 2013 survey will be used as a base to see how the impact of Obamacare will be in getting its citizens covered by insurance. The results from the web site in greater detail can be found on the link to the Colorado Health Institute web site.
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  • One of seven residents - 741,000 Coloradans – does not have health insurance.
  • The percentage of Coloradans without health insurance is 14.3 percent compared to 15.8 percent in 2011 and 13.5 percent in 2009, when the last surveys were fielded. This suggests a slight uptick in health insurance coverage. It shows, however, that an improving economy has yet to translate into a robust increase in the number of Coloradans with health insurance.
  • Employer-sponsored insurance, the backbone of coverage for most Coloradans, has not returned to 2009 levels. That year, 63.7 percent of Coloradans were covered by health insurance obtained through an employer. In 2013, it is 59.0 percent.
  • Four counties in northwest Colorado – Routt, Moffatt, Jackson and Rio Blanco – have the highest percentage of residents without insurance at 24.8 percent. Douglas County has the lowest rate at 5.4 percent.
  • Nearly 8 percent of Coloradans said they needed mental health services or counseling services in the 12 months before the survey, but did not get them, with the most frequently cited reasons relating to cost.
  • The high cost of health care deters many Coloradans from receiving treatment when they need it. Citing cost, about one of five Coloradans (19.3 percent) report foregoing needed dental care, 12.3 percent did not seek a doctor’s care and 11.2 percent report that they did not fill a prescription. 
  • Nearly half (46.7 percent) of Colorado’s uninsured say they have gone without health insurance for more than five years. One of 10 have never had health insurance."

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