1 in 7 NC residents don't have health insurance

Sarah Rabil

Staff Writer

Thursday, July 28, 2005



Job layoffs and industry relocations in recent years have made it harder for area residents to afford health insurance. In Rockingham County about one in seven don't have any form of health care coverage.

Families who can afford health insurance could see their premiums jump in the coming years.



According to a new study released by the health consumer organization, Families USA, families with health insurance through private employers may face premiums that are $922 higher in 2005 to reimburse the costs of health care for the uninsured. By 2010, the extra premium costs are projected to inflate to $1,502.



Sandra Kueider, emergency room director for Annie Penn Hospital, said she has witnessed a growing number of uninsured residents who use the emergency room as a primary care facility. By law, hospital emergency rooms cannot turn away the uninsured.



"We always treat every patient that comes to our emergency room," said Sharon Troxler, spokeswoman for Annie Penn Hospital. "(But) we're not required to admit the patient and perform elective surgery."



Kueider said the growing volume of uninsured patients translates to a more crowded emergency room with fewer beds available. About 10.3 percent of Annie Penn's patients are self-paid, meaning they do not have insurance and do not qualify for Medicare or Medicaid, Troxler said.



Annie Penn is part of the Moses Cone Health System, and about 5 percent of patients treated in the system lack health insurance, said Doug Allred, public relations specialist for Moses Cone Health System.



The Families USA report stated that about one-third of health care costs incurred by the uninsured are paid by the uninsured themselves. The remaining costs are deemed "uncompensated care."



In 2004 the Moses Cone system racked up $58.3 million in uncompensated care, which includes costs for the uninsured, patients who could not pay their bill in full and shortfalls in Medicare and Medicaid.



Locally, residents have felt the effect of rising health care costs coupled with high jobless rates, which directly affect hospitals' uncompensated care costs. Rockingham County's unemployment rate was 6.4 percent in May, down from a staggering 11.2 percent in July 2003.



The number of uninsured North Carolinians is expected to increase by about 140,000 to total more than 1.4 million uninsured residents in 2010, according to the Families USA report.



Households in Rockingham, Davie, Stokes, Surry and Yadkin counties reported higher premiums and out-of-pocket health care costs than the rest of the state, according to a 2004 survey conducted by the North Carolina State Center for Health Statistics.



More than 20 percent of those surveyed said they had given up a portion of their living expenses in the last year to pay health care costs. Of those surveyed in the five counties, about 23 percent reported foregoing health care in the last year because of the cost, compared to 16 percent of state residents not seeing a doctor due to cost.



The survey results also showed that locally a larger percentage of residents under age 65 do not have health insurance - 18.3 percent compared to 16.1 percent statewide.



For now, local hospitals are working around the clock to keep pace with the volume of patients - both insured and uninsured - flooding emergency departments.



Annie Penn Hospital is planning to more than double the size of its emergency department in the coming months in a phased project that will cost in the millions of dollars.