The report, authored by Jessica Van Arsdale, M.D., MPH, director of health research at CCRP, and Launa Peeters-Graehl, a CCRP graduate student research assistant, is based on findings from The Rural Health Information Survey. Conducted by CCRP in the fall of 2006, it quantifies health disparities, access and utilization of health care among residents of Del Norte, Humboldt, Mendocino and Trinity Counties.
“The survey was designed to identify issues impacting health and access to health care in the Redwood Coast Region with the purpose of providing information for planning and policy development aimed at improving health and health care in the region,” said Van Arsdale.
Included in the survey’s findings were important statistics relating to health care profiles of Northern California residents. One of the most significant results showed that of the 2,950 respondents, 21 percent of those under age 65 are uninsured.
The research brief also quotes a 2004 study by the California Medical Association, which found that as many as 80 percent of all Medi-Cal and uninsured patient visits to the emergency department could have been treated in a non-emergency care facility. This statistic is supported by the CCRP’s own finding that 44.9 percent of respondents with Medi-Cal insurance visited an emergency room in the prior year, compared to only 20.4 percent of people with private insurance.
Other results are:
• Respondents most likely to be uninsured were poor, unemployed or self-employed individuals who are under the age of 65, and are living in areas of Humboldt and Mendocino Counties with low population density.
• Only 58.4 percent of uninsured respondents reported having a general check-up in the past four years, versus 91.6 of those with private insurance and 89.5 percent of those with Medi-Cal.
• Uninsured respondents were significantly less likely than respondents with private insurance or Medi-Cal to have received recommended screening for breast cancer, cervical cancer, colorectal cancer or diabetes.
• Furthermore, respondents with Medi-Cal were significantly less likely than respondents with private insurance to have received recommended screening for breast cancer, colorectal cancer and diabetes, despite being equally likely to have had a general check-up within the past four years.
• With regards to personal perceptions of health, 46.8 percent of respondents with Medi-Cal reported poor or fair health compared to 10 percent of respondents with private insurance.
According to the CCRP, these data indicate clear disparities in health insurance and access to health care in the Redwood Coast region. The CCRP invites the public to engage in a dialogue about potential solutions and policy recommendations to address identified problems.
The full Insurance Research Brief, as well as other information about the center’s work, is online at http://www.humboldt.edu/~ccrp. Follow the “publications” link to “research briefs.”
For more information, the center may be contacted at (707) 826-3400.