Annual Campaign Seeks to Extend Health Care Coverage

According to the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation, some 46 million Americans -- including 9 million children -- are uninsured. And if one takes a look at today's news headlines, it doesn't require much of a leap to predict that a weakened national economy and growing unemployment likely will leave even more Americans without health insurance in the coming months.

The foundation's annual Cover the Uninsured Week campaign -- planned for March 22-28 -- aims to spotlight the uninsurance crisis, while calling on legislators and health policymakers to find solutions.

The swelling ranks of the uninsured are not necessarily unemployed. According to a public opinion survey funded by the foundation, 36 percent of small business owners said that rising costs likely will cause them to cut some portion of the health benefits they offer employees.

A recent study from the Institute of Medicine, or IOM, reports that the average amount employees paid per year of family coverage in an employer-sponsored plan rose from $1,543 in 1999 to $3,354 in 2008. The report says that if that trend continues, the decline in health care coverage also will continue.

The study, which was funded by the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation, estimates that health care services provided to uninsured patients totaled about $86 billion last year. Uninsured patients paid about $30 billion out of pocket; government subsidies covered about $43 billion of the remaining $56 billion uncompensated care amount.

The IOM study notes that when a community has a high rate of unemployment, the financial impact on providers can affect access to care and the quality of care for everyone, including the insured.

For example, IOM President Harvey Fineberg, M.D., Ph.D., said in an audiocast (4:51-minute MP3 file; About Downloading) on the institute's Web site that uninsured children are up to 30 percent less likely than insured children to be vaccinated.

Furthermore, he said, uninsured adults with chronic conditions, such as asthma, diabetes and heart disease, are two to four times more likely than insured adults with the same conditions to go an entire year without medical attention.

Because uninsured adults often forgo basic care, such as prescription medications and doctor visits, their health risks are disproportionately higher than those of insured adults, Fineberg added. Uninsured adults with hypertension, for example, are 65 percent more likely to suffer a stroke and 25 percent more likely to die than their counterparts who have insurance.

"Uninsured individuals experience much more risk to their health than insured individuals," he said. "As adults, they are much less likely to receive clinical vaccinations, screenings and other preventative services -- care that often reduces unnecessary and preventable deaths."

The AAFP is one of hundreds of national organizations supporting Cover the Uninsured Week 2009 and its myriad events. Last year, about 1,500 events took place in 44 states and Washington, D.C., during the week, including about 800 enrollment events for eligible families.

Family physicians are encouraged to participate in this year's activities, which range from local wellness and screening events to campaigns that encourage schoolchildren to contact their state legislators with a message about health insurance. To find events planned for your area, visit the Cover the Uninsured Web site and click on your state on the national map displayed on the "Learn About Your State" page.

Here are some other ideas for participating in the campaign: