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The number of uninsured Virginians is growing at an alarming pace, exacerbated by the current state of the economy. Fewer employers are offering health insurance benefits to their employees and health insurance premiums are increasingly unaffordable.
Now more than ever, Virginians are turning to the Commonwealth's health safety net providers. VHCF is on the frontline, helping build and strengthen Virginia's health safety net to increase access to care statewide.
Who are Virginia's Uninsured?
Among other findings, VHCF's Profile of the Uninsured, released in February 2010, reveals that, even before the economic downturn:
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One million Virginians were uninsured -- 15 percent of adults under age 65.
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The vast majority of uninsured Virginians were employed, living in households in which at least one family member worked full-time (64.6%) or part-time (15.2%).
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Read more findings from the most recent VHCF Profile of the Uninsured.
The Commonwealth Institute for Fiscal Analysis documented disturbing trends regarding Virginia's uninsured drawn from the U.S. Census Department Report: Income, Poverty, and
Health Insurance Coverage in the United States: 2007.
Findings in the Commonwealth Institute's report, New Census Data Shows Growing Poverty in Virginia... More Virginians Live in Poverty,
and the Number of Uninsured Grows, include:
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While the number of uninsured nationally has fallen, the number of
uninsured Virginians continues to climb.
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The number of uninsured in the state topped 1
million for the second year in a row in 2007, increasing to 1,135,000. |
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The percentage of the total Virginia population that is uninsured rose from 13.3% in 2006 to 14.8% in 2007. |
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The number of working Virginians getting health insurance
through their job has decreased: in 2006, 66.7% received coverage through their jobs while, in 2007, only 61.9% did. |
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Although Virginia has a lower uninsured rate than the national average, the percentage of uninsured has significantly increased over the past eight years.
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Virginia’s employer provided health insurance coverage
substantially declined in 2007. Only 61.9 percent of Virginians had health insurance through their employer in 2007, 4.8 percentage points less than in 2006. |
Health Insurance Coverage in America, released in 2008 by the Kaiser Family Foundation, provides a detailed demographic analysis of the insured and uninsured in the U.S.
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The number of uninsured in America has been steadily growing.
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Between 2000 and 2004 employer-sponsored health coverage
dropped substantially, declining from 66% of the nonelderly in 2000 to 61% by 2004. The number of uninsured increased by about six million over this period. |
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The number of nonelderly uninsured continued to grow by about 3.5 million between 2004 and 2006.
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18% of the nonelderly U.S. population is uninsured. |
What are the Consequences of Being Uninsured?
Dying for Coverage in Virginia, a 2008 report by Families USA, estimated that:
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As many as 10 working-age Virginians die each week because
they lack health insurance -- most from diseases that could have been treated easily if caught early. |
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Between 2000 and 2006, an estimated 3,200-plus Virginians
aged 25-64 died because they did not have health insurance. |
VHCF's Virginia Health Access Survey details how those without insurance are substantially more likely to forego needed medical care, prescriptions and dental care:
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15.9% were unable to obtain needed health care. |
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27.6% were unable to obtain prescriptions due to costs. |
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55.2% were unable to visit a dentist regularly. |
The Institute of Medicine Committee on the Consequences of Uninsurance, found that working-age Americans without health insurance are more likely to:
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Receive too little medical care and receive it too late; |
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Be sicker and die sooner. |
How is VHCF helping Virginia's Uninsured?
Through grantmaking and innovative initiatives, the Virginia Health Care Foundation plays a pivotal role in strengthening Virginia's health safety net to help make primary care available to all who need it.
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VHCF's Children's Health Insurance Initiative has been a vital
partner in the effort to enroll eligible children in state-sponsored health insurance (FAMIS and FAMIS Plus). 50,000 children have been enrolled through VHCF projects. |
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VHCF has invested nearly $28 million in Virginia's health safety net, increasing the number of providers from 33 to 194.
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VHCF grants totaling more than $36.8 million have increased
access to medical, dental and mental health care for uninsured Virginians and have made more than 1.7 million patient visits possible. |
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The Pharmacy Connection, VHCF's flagship program to obtain free
medications for eligible uninsured Virginians, has provided more than 181,000 uninsured Virginians with more than $688 million in free prescription medications. |
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Over the past 11 years, VHCF has leveraged an average of $11 in
cash, health services and other in-kind contributions for each dollar expended. |
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