Coverage of health care by insurance is, for many people, a critical part of their ability to freely have access to care. Approximately ten percent of residents of the region were without coverage at the time of the survey. This was similar to 1995, as the graph shows, though in 2000 people had generally been without coverage for a shorter period of time. The bars on the far right show that our region is similar to our state and somewhat better than the whole country in the proportion uninsured. Because all people over age 65 are covered by Medicare, those under 65 have a higher proportion uninsured than is true of all ages.
Insurance coverage alone doesn't tell the full story, because often insurance coverage is not adequate to allow for full utilization of services that a person needs. If an individual has insurance coverage, yet doesn't obtain necessary health care because of cost, that person can be termed under-insured. About seven to eight percent of respondents had insurance, yet answered "yes" to the question: "Was there a time during the last 12 months when you needed to see a doctor, but could not because of the cost?" This figure represents a low estimate of the fraction of people who are under-insured, because many people actually are under-insured but didn't happen to need medical care in the last year.
National and statewide figures for insurance coverage are available through the CDC's Behavioral Risk Factor Surveillance Survey. Following the 1995 CHAP survey, a group of northern Michigan health organizations partnered to create a community initiative to improve access to care. Healthy Futures is an initiative providing support, resources and referral for pregnant women and children to age two in our community. One can also visit Dental Clinics North, another multi-organizational effort, which is focused on promoting access to dental services primarily among persons possessing Medicaid.
