Hispanics, Other Racial Groups Top New York’s List of Uninsured Residents, Report Finds
Hispanics, males, those ages 18 to 24, and the employed make up most of the nearly one million adult residents in New York City who are uninsured, according to a report released on Wednesday by the New York City Department of Health and Mental Hygiene, AP/Long Island Newsday (AP/Long Island Newsday, 8/22). According to the report, one in four Hispanics lacked health insurance during 2005, compared with one in five Asians, one in six blacks and one in 10 whites, according to the report (Reuters, 8/22). Health officials said 17% of the city's population of eight million is uninsured, compared with a rate of 16% nationally. Of those who were uninsured in New York City, 700,000 were employed.
City health officials said they are uncertain why many working adults lack health coverage but noted the higher costs of health care and fewer companies offering insurance plans (AP/Long Island Newsday, 8/22). "All of this adds up to people landing in emergency rooms with costly, devastating health problems that could have been prevented or treated," Thomas Frieden, the city's health commissioner, said, in a statement, adding, "This report tells us that hundreds of thousands of New Yorkers are missing out on routine screenings that could prevent illnesses and save lives" (Reuters, 8/22).
The report is available online (.pdf).