Local Groups Come Together to Share Concern over Rising Number of Uninsured Americans (March 2003).

Cover the Uninsured Week To Raise Awareness, Help People Without Health Insurance

Consumers Union and other state and local organizations will participate in an unprecedented week-long series of events to focus attention on the plight of the millions of Americans who lack health insurance, including an estimated 4.5 million Texans.

Activities during Cover the Uninsured Week, planned for March 10 through March 16, 2003, will include a town hall meeting with local community leaders and other elected officials; a business and labor health care symposium; a community health fair; an on-campus event; and interfaith meetings held throughout the Austin metro area.

Working with The Robert Wood Johnson Foundation, Cover the Uninsured Week is being organized by a broad coalition of local organizations including the Indigent Care Collaboration (ICC), insure-a-kid, United Way Capital Area, Texas AFL-CIO, Seton Healthcare Network, and the Greater Austin Hispanic Chamber of Commerce.

"All of us — health care leaders, elected officials, universities, business and labor groups, faith communities-need to work together to help every member of our community understand the plight of those who go without health coverage of any kind," said Paul Gionfriddo, ICC's Executive Director. "The week provides opportunities for people from all walks of life and every point of view to come together to increase the visibility of the problem, help their uninsured neighbors and begin a reasoned public discussion of proposed solutions to this problem."

The most recent report from the U.S. Census Bureau says that more than 41 million Americans were uninsured in 2001, up 1.4 million from the previous year. The jump is the largest single-year increase in more than a decade. Texas has one of the highest uninsured rates in the country, with an increase from 21.4 percent to 23.5 percent in 2001. Organizers say those numbers are likely still rising, owing to a sluggish economy and rising health care costs.

"It is impressive for this initiative to have such diverse leadership rallying to push this urgent issue to the forefront of America and to our local communities," said Beth Atherton, insure-a-kid Executive Director. "This is critical because Americans without health insurance face serious consequences. We have found when working with uninsured children in Central Texas that delaying health care, living with untreated illness, and having undiagnosed conditions contributes to an unhealthy community."

Studies show that uninsured women who develop breast cancer are twice as likely to die as women with breast cancer who have coverage. Men without health insurance are nearly 50 percent more likely to be diagnosed at a late stage for colon cancer as men with insurance. Uninsured children are 70 percent more likely than insured children not to have received medical care for common conditions such as ear infections.

Events in Austin are similar to hundreds of others being planned in communities across the United States.

Cover the Uninsured Week in Austin is funded primarily by The Robert Wood Johnson Foundation, the nation's largest philanthropy dedicated exclusively to improving the health and health care of all Americans. The California Endowment and the W.K. Kellogg Foundation are also providing significant funds for events throughout the nation.

For more information, visit: www.covertheuninsuredweek.org or e-mail Karen Gross at karenelyce@bust.com