11 Million Uninsured Have Chronic Illness, Load Up ERs

ATLANTA–Millions of U.S. residents with chronic conditions are not
receiving appropriate care because they are uninsured, according to
a new study, “A National Study of Chronic Disease Prevalence and
Access to Care in Uninsured U.S. Adults,” published in the
Annals of Internal
Medicine.

For the study, researchers analyzed National Center for Health
Statistics surveys of adults ages 18 to 64. They found that about
11 million people out of the 36 million who reported having no
health insurance in 2004–the latest data examined in the
study–had been diagnosed with a chronic condition, including high
blood pressure, diabetes, asthma and emphysema, among others. The
study also found that most of the uninsured with chronic illnesses
forgo doctor’s visits and instead rely solely on emergency room
visits for care.

Researchers from the Cambridge Health Alliance and Harvard Medical
School found that 22.6 percent of those surveyed with one or more
chronic illnesses had not seen a medical professional in the last
year, compared with 6.2 percent of those with insurance. In
addition, 7.1 percent of those without insurance identified an
emergency room as their standard site for care, compared with 1.1
percent of those with insurance.

A statement from lead author Andrew Wilper of the University of
Washington-Seattle noted “many of these individuals end up
with preventable emergency room visits, hospitalizations,
amputations, kidney failure or worse because their chronic
condition has gotten out of control.”

“For some of the 11.4 million uninsured Americans with serious
chronic conditions, access to care seems to be unobtainable; many
may face early disability and death as a result,” the study’s
authors said.

They
also pointed out their estimates could be low because the study
only counted those with chronic conditions who were diagnosed by a
doctor.