Wednesday, Aug. 3, 2005 | 10:54 a.m.
WASHINGTON -- Nevada is second in the nation in the percentage of children without health insurance who don't get seen by a doctor, based on a report released Tuesday.
In a state-by-state analysis, the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation found 43.3 percent of uninsured children in Nevada received no medical care during 2003, based on data from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention's National Center for Health Statistics. Only Arizona was higher with 47.1 percent.
Steven C. Hansen, chief executive of Nevada Health Centers, Inc., an organization with nine clinics for low-income patients in the Las Vegas Valley, said the study "seems accurate."
He said that 54 percent of his approximately 4,500 patients in the valley during the quarter ending in March were uninsured, and that three school-based clinics his organization recently took over include high numbers of uninsured children -- many of whose parents say they had no medical care before finding the clinics.
"We get it all the time from people -- they haven't had any care for one, two years."
In Nevada, about 108,639, or 18.6 percent, of the state's children are uninsured, based on 2002 to 2003 data. That is second only to Texas, where 21.2 percent of the children have no health coverage.
As well, Nevada ranks last in the nation in the amount of uninsured children whose families reported that they have a personal doctor or nurse -- 40 percent.
The study suggests that the problem is even worse for Hispanics and blacks, with about 41.4 percent of uninsured Hispanic children going without care for a year nationwide, compared to 29 percent of black children and 25.7 percent of white children.
There were no figures on race and ethnicity for each state.
The study also said that many working families may be eligible for federal health programs but aren't using them.
The New Jersey-based foundation, which centers its work on promoting healthy lifestyles, released the report to kick off a back-to-school campaign called "Covering Kids & Families," a nationwide effort get more children enrolled in Medicaid or the State Children's Health Insurance Program. The program here is called Nevada CheckUp.
Mary Coon, program manager for the outreach program in Southern Nevada, said she visits schools and libraries to spread the word about government health insurance programs for children -- programs that a lot of local families may be eligible to use.
"People think it doesn't apply for them, that it is just for low-income families," Coon said. She pointed out that a family of four with an income of up to $38,700 a year could be eligible.
So far, 19,231 children are enrolled in Nevada CheckUp, she said.
Assembly Majority Leader Barbara Buckley, D-Las Vegas, said that Nevada could be applying for more federal funds to match county dollars already in use.
Buckley led efforts in the 2005 Legislature to expand coverage to pregnant women, small-business employees and people who are not covered by Medicare.
As for the programs already out there, Coons said the transient nature of Clark County makes it difficult to get people into the program. She said some parents have jobs with health insurance and then move on to another that has no coverage, and don't realize they are eligible for help.
Those wanting more information on how to apply for Nevada CheckUp or Medicaid can call 1-877-KIDS-NOW to be connected to someone who can send an application.
"The goal is to make it easier to apply," Coon said.
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