1 out of 4 Phoenix Residents Uninsured

 

PHOENIX (Wire Services)  September 23, 2009 ― One in four Phoenix residents lacks health insurance, putting Arizona's largest city among the bottom dwellers among big cities on health coverage.

The U.S. Census report shows that more than 381,000 Phoenix residents, or 25 percent, do not have health insurance.

Among cities with at least 1 million residents, only Dallas, Houston and Los Angeles have a higher percentage of residents who do not have health insurance.
The census figures showed other Valley cities fared much better than Phoenix. More than nine in 10 residents of suburban communities such as Gilbert, Scottsdale and Surprise have health insurance.

Things weren't so rosy for Arizona's second- and third-largest cities, Tucson and Mesa. About one in five residents of those cities does not have health coverage.

The new figures, part of the Census Bureau's American Community Survey on various economic and social measures, offer fresh evidence that Arizona has much at stake as Congress debates ways to extend health insurance to more Americans.

The federal report comes as no surprise to Phoenix-area health clinics and hospitals that grapple every day with the waves of uninsured patients seeking discounted or free health care.

"No question about it, more people are calling (seeking help)," said Densie Link, a nurse practitioner who oversees the Arizona State University College of Nursing's five health clinics and a mobile clinic. "People are looking for health care."

Although the ASU clinics treat patients from across the Valley, Link said, the Phoenix clinics are in greatest demand. For example, the nursing school's clinic at Grace Lutheran Church on Third Street just north of downtown Phoenix already has provided wellness exams, family counseling and other medical services for about 1,500 people this year. The grant-funded clinic, which is staffed by a nurse practitioners, social workers and mental-health professionals, likely will surpass its goal of treating 1,600 patients this year.

Link said the ASU clinics are busier than ever because of the poor economy.

Hospitals such as St. Joseph's Hospital and Medical Center in Phoenix treat uninsured patients daily. In July and August, St. Joseph's provided $11 million in free "charity care" to those who could not afford their hospital bills.

St. Joseph's representatives say they expect the ranks of the uninsured in the Phoenix region will only grow as more people lose health coverage through COBRA, the federal law that allows some laid-off workers to continue health coverage by paying their share of the premium through an employer's group health plan.

"The wave is still yet to come," said Sister Margaret McBride, a St. Joseph's vice president. "That will be a challenge for this state. How do we fund this?"

The survey showed that 19 percent of Arizonans do not have health insurance. The survey included all types of insurance, including private coverage, employer-provided plans as well as those who take government insurance such as Medicare, for those 65 and older, and Medicaid, the joint federal-state insurance program for the poor and disabled.

Texas, one of seven states with a higher percentage of uninsured residents than Arizona, has the nation's highest rate of uninsured residents at 24 percent. Massachusetts, which offers universal health coverage, has the lowest uninsured rate, at just 4 percent.

Wendy Burkholder, a Maricopa Integrated Health System administrator, said the rising demand from uninsured patients has stressed the public-health system's 10 primary-care clinics.

"We've hired additional providers, and we're looking at expanding our hours," Burkholder said of the county health system's clinics, which charge patients based on their ability to pay. "More people need to access care."

The census figures show the economy has affected health care in other ways, too.

For the first time this decade, the number of foreign-born residents declined in the United States. The survey also showed the numbers of foreign-born residents in Phoenix declined, as well.

Area hospitals say they have noticed fewer undocumented immigrants seeking care, likely an outgrowth of lack of jobs because of the region's economic struggles as well as immigrant crackdowns such as the employer-sanctions law.

"We are definitely seeing a reduction in the number of undocumented immigrants seeking care at the hospital," McBride said.

 

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