Study: Uninsured Vermonters less likely to get health care
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By Louis Porter Vermont Press Bureau - Published: April 27, 2006
MONTPELIER — Americans and Vermonters who don't have health insurance are less likely to get preventive medical care and less likely to see a doctor when they need one.
Those are the conclusions of a study released this week by the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation.
Vermont, which has 69,000 residents without health insurance, is neither best off among the states or the worst off, the study said.
The report is based on government data, including results of the U.S. Census.
"We think it is a widespread myth that people who don't have health insurance get care anyway," said Elaine Arkin, who directs the foundation's "Cover the Uninsured Week" program. "People are who are uninsured in Vermont are five times less likely to see a doctor when they need one."
In Vermont about 40 percent, or just under 23,000 people, of the uninsured are unable to get care when they need it, according to the study.
However, there is one bright spot in the results of the study. The uninsured in the state are not as unhealthy as in most states.
About 12 percent of uninsured Vermonters reported to the Census they were in "poor" or "fair" health. While that is more than those who have insurance, it is less than the uninsured in many states. Only Hawaii had a lower number.
The uninsured in places like Vermont may be getting care in emergency rooms when they have acute illnesses or accidents, Arkin said, but they are not getting prevention coverage and they are being charged for the most costly kind of medical care.
"You will get that care in the emergency department, but you have to pay for it," she said. "If you are uninsured you are not getting those negotiated group rates, so you are paying top dollar. People without insurance are really gambling that they will stay healthy."
Arkin added, "One serious illness or accident can bankrupt a family."
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