Many Floridians lack health insurance, study says

From: Walter Lippmann
To: CubaNews
Sent: Thursday, October 09, 2008 11:38 AM
Subject: MH: Many Floridians lack health insurance, study says


(By contrast, ever single Cuban has health insurance. They don't even
have to carry a card. It's the mere fact of their Cuban birth, their
Cuban citizenship, which grants them absolute coverage, from the
cradle to the grave, at somewhere between nearly nothing and utterly,
absolutely nothing. There are things which may not be available, and
Cubans grumble about this as they do about everything else. But every
single Cuban citizen is completely covered 100%. They have no medical
"insurance" system, since the entire purpose of "insurance" is to
decide which coverage, medicine or procedure, that the individual may
NOT receive. Here in the United States, many may have no coverage,
but they are "free". Quite so, as this demonstrates, on 1/3 are
"free" of medical coverage. And that's the kind of "freedom" which
the United States government wants to impose on the island of Cuba.)

[From Karen: Or, put another way, Americans are "free" to choose their own doctor or medical plan, as long as they can afford it, or to do without if they can't
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MIAMI HERALD
Posted on Thu, Oct. 09, 2008
Many Floridians lack health insurance, study says
BY JOHN DORSCHNER

http://www.miamiherald.com/business/story/718866.html

Almost one-third of people under 65 in Miami-Dade and one-fourth in Broward lacked health insurance in 2005, according to Census Bureau figures.

The numbers -- the first provided by the Census Bureau in five years -- paint a grim picture in South Florida and the state overall.

In Miami-Dade, 29.6 percent lacked coverage. In Broward, it was 26 percent.

Both were above the state's 24 percent.

Only Texas and New Mexico had higher rates of uninsured people under 65.

As have many other studies, this report found a wide disparity among racial-ethnic groups. Hispanics in Florida were far more likely to be uninsured -- 38.6 percent. Black non-Hispanics had a 26.7 percent rate -- the highest rate for blacks found anywhere in the country. White non-Hispanics were at 17.9 percent.

Only Mississippi and Texas had higher rates for Hispanics. Only Montana and Oklahoma had higher rates for whites.

Racial-ethnic breakdowns by county were not available, but Daniella Levine of the Human Services Coalition said she was sure the number of uninsured Hispanics in South Florida would be huge.

''They've always been the highest subgroup,'' said Levine, whose group often represents the interests of the poor and the uninsured. ``They tend to work primarily for small employers, or their immigration status might be a factor. Some might be undocumented and not receive benefits. . . .

''And I'm sure it's gotten worse since 2005,'' Levine said. ``Insurance premiums keep going up, so more companies can't afford them. There's more part-time work, fewer jobs with benefits. And now with the economy sinking, it's only going to get worse.''

The Census Bureau said the latest figures are not comparable with a previous study in 2000 because different techniques were used, but Levine said that from studies she has seen from other groups, ''this is definitely showing an increase'' in the uninsured.

Many experts, including Levine, have pointed out that the unemployed poor qualify for Medicaid, so most of the uninsured people are workers who lack benefits.


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WALTER LIPPMANN
Los Angeles, California
Editor-in-Chief, CubaNews
http://groups.yahoo.com/group/CubaNews/
"Cuba - Un Paraíso bajo el bloqueo"
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