The percentage of Oregonians without health insurance has stagnated in the past two years, new data show.
Much has been written lately about how individuals’ health could suffer if they lose insurance under the health proposals circulating in the U.S. House and Senate.
Since October, Cover Oregon has been toiling through technological hiccups to make sure more Oregonians have affordable and quality health insurance. Behind the scenes, even before the Affordable Care Act became law, efforts to have more children covered by health insurance have been quietly successful, especially in Oregon.
According to a new report, "For Kids' Sake: State-Level Trends in Children's Health Insurance - A State-by-State Analysis," the percentage of uninsured children in the U.S. dropped from 9.7 percent in 2008 to 7.5 percent in 2012. The report, conducted by researchers at the University of Minnesota's School of Public Health's State Health Access Data Assistance Center and funded by the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation, also documents recent coverage trends at the state level using data from 2008 through 2012, the most recent year available.
October 10, 2013 -- Cover Oregon begins in only a few months. But those needing an organ transplant who haven’t had prior coverage may have to wait a lot longer.
February 25, 2013 -- At 63 and self-employed, I'm too young for Medicare, I make too much money to qualify for Medicaid, but I don't make nearly enough to afford an individual insurance policy.
October 25, 2012 -- For seven years, the Southwest Community Health Center – nestled in the heart of southwest Portland's Multnomah Village – has served Portland's uninsured, with no restrictions on age, income or neighborhood. Forty percent of patients travel to the neighborhood from outside southwest Portland – some from as far away as Troutdale or Woodburn – but the majority of patients live in the southwest quadrant.
October 19, 2012 -- A 2010 report published by the Oregon Office of Health Policy Research estimates that 35 percent of currently people lacking insurance would remain uninsured by 2019, despite expanded coverage by the Affordable Care Act.
