Health Coverage in O.C. Growing, Survey Finds

More Orange County residents had health care coverage in 2001 than in 1998, with the greatest improvement among Latino children, a new study shows.

The study was the second by the Orange County Health Needs Assessment, and it compared results from the first survey in 1998 with one in 2001.

The study showed that while 240,000 adults--or 11.8%--still have no health care coverage, the figure has dropped 31% since the 1998 report. The increase in coverage is attributed to more people enrolling in the growing number of publicly supported insurance programs, said Dr. Mark Horton, the county’s public health officer.

About 69,000 Orange County children still lack coverage. Nearly half of those are Latino youngsters, but the number lacking coverage has dropped 8.4% from 1998. In addition, 8% of children younger than 6 are without coverage.

The survey found that 20% of households with incomes less than $25,000 annually do not have health care coverage for their children

Still, Horton said, the assessment shows “we’ve made significant progress over the last three years.”

At the same time, the survey found that the number of people insured through their jobs has declined 3%.

The assessment surveyed 5,000 households by phone over the spring, summer and early fall of 2001.

The Orange County Health Needs Assessment is a nonprofit project funded mainly by hospitals, health care systems and the county’s Health Care Agency.

The survey also found that the birth rate for girls and women 15 to 19 has dropped 25%, reflecting similar figures across the country. The number of infant deaths also went down, by 17.5%.

Despite the good news about access to health care, the survey found that Orange County residents are not as healthy as people elsewhere.

County death rates for heart disease, stroke and cancer were somewhat higher than the state’s as a whole.

For coronary heart disease, the county’s death rate was 228.1 per 100,000 people versus a statewide average of 201.5 per 100,000. Stroke death rates were 67.7 compared to 63.3 per 100,000. Cancer death rates were 183.7 versus 179.8 per 100,000.

Exercise and weight may play a factor, the survey suggested.

Among adults 65 and older, 41% said they were overweight.

Half of respondents surveyed said their children get less than the half-hour of daily exercise recommended by the Centers for Disease Control.

In addition, parents reported that their children eat fast food an average of 21/2 times a week. A full 25% of those parents reported their children eat fast food four to seven times a week.