Uninsured
| Most
recent CO value (2004-2006) |
CO
rank (2004-2006) |
CO
value (2004-2006) |
Best
state (2004-2006) |
Best
state value (2004-2006) |
HP
2010 target |
14.1% |
41/50 |
14.1% |
Iowa |
5.4% |
0% |
Indicator Definition
Adolescents (ages 13 – 17 years) are considered uninsured
if they did not have a public or private source
of health care coverage for the entire past calendar year.
Adolescents
without health insurance in Colorado4
|
 |
|
 |
| Adolescents
without health insurance by income in Colorado5 |
 |
|
Indicator Significance
Over the past decade, the percentage of adolescents
covered by health insurance in the United States has increased for
poor and near-poor families due to growth in public insurance programs
such as Medicaid and the State Child Health Insurance Program (SCHIP).
However, because of declines in private health insurance coverage
for dependents of workers, coverage for adolescents in middle- and
higher-income families has declined. Insurance coverage plays a
critical role in ensuring access to health care services. Adolescents
who have insurance coverage are more likely to have an on-going
relationship with a primary physician. Since health status is linked
to high school performance, having a continuous and reliable source
of primary care is an important determinant of success.
Although poor and near-poor families make up
one-third of the total population, they represent two-thirds of
uninsured adolescents.1
Colorado Specifics
Colorado ranks 41st in insurance coverage for
adolescents. Uninsurance rates for Colorado adolescents have remained
relatively stable at around 14 percent for the past five years.
Insurance coverage for adolescents is strongly associated with family
income. Adolescents in families below the federal poverty level
are roughly 10 times more likely to be uninsured as those living
in families at or above 400 percent of the federal poverty level.
Promising Initiatives
In Colorado
Rocky Mountain Youth Clinics (RMYC) is a nonprofit
organization that provides access to high quality
health care services for children and adolescents in the Denver
metropolitan area. RMYC serves youth regardless of insurance coverage
or their family’s
ability to pay. This unique program model seeks
to provide care in those places where adolescents live and spend
their time, such as schools, youth centers, residential facilities
and homeless shelters. RMYC has three primary clinics, two mobile
units and more than 20 smaller off-site clinics. In 2007, RMYC expanded
its efforts to provide health and dental care to a number of rural
Colorado communities.2
Elsewhere
The Lucile Packard Children’s Hospital at Stanford, in Palo
Alto, Calif., created the Teen Health Van to
provide comprehensive health care to teens in California’s
San Mateo, Santa Clara, and San Francisco Counties. With social
workers, dieticians and physicians on board, a comprehensive range
of health issues can be covered in one visit. The van program uses
innovative techniques such as theater, art
and cooking classes to attract the interest
of teens. The program has an 87 percent return rate of teens, as
well as a constant influx of
new patients.3
Adolescents
without health insurance6
Text
- “Trends in Public and Private Health
Insurance for Adolescents,” Journal
of the American Medical Association, March
10, 2004
- The
Rocky Mountain Youth Clinics, Programs and Services
- Lucile
Packard Children’s
Hospital at Stanford, Clinical Services and
Specialities
Charts
- Source: Colorado
Health Institute analysis of the U.S. Census
Bureau’s Current Population
Survey, 2000 – 2006.
- Source: Colorado
Health Institute analysis of the U.S. Census
Bureau’s Current Population
Survey, 2000 – 2006.
- Source: U.S.
Census Bureau, Current Population Survey,
2004 – 06
|
