If all uninsured adults lived in a single city,

it would be the third largest city in

Alameda County.

One in every eight people in the County is uninsured.

CAUS FACT SHEET:

THE UNINSURED IN ALAMEDA COUNTY

Profile of uninsured:

Ø      Over 140,000 Alameda County adults between 19 and 64 years of age are uninsured.¹

Ø      About 38% of the uninsured adults are Latino. Asian American or Pacific Islander and African American adults each make up 18% of the uninsured adults. Latinos, regardless of citizenship status, have lower rates of employment-based health insurance and higher rates of being uninsured than any other group.²

Ø      The majority of the Alameda County’s uninsured (55%) work one or more jobs.³

Why people are uninsured:

Ø      About 10% of the uninsured are Medi-Cal eligible but not enrolled.

Ø      In California, less than half of small firms (2 to 50 employees) in California offer their employees health insurance benefits. They cite the high cost of premiums as an important reason why they do not offer coverage. ⁴

Ø      In Alameda County, only 41% of low-income and moderate-income people had job-based coverage. ⁵

Ø      Over ¾ of the uninsured workers in Alameda County are either self-employed or work in firms with less than 50 employees. ⁶

Consequences of being uninsured: ⁷

 

Ø      In 1999, nearly 1/3 of the uninsured non-elderly adults in California report that they did not seek medical care when they needed it because of cost.

Ø      Uninsured adults are less likely to receive recommended preventive care than the insured. Among the uninsured in Alameda County, 38% did not have usual source of care.

Ø      Uninsured adults have poorer health status than the insured.