By Emily Berry
Staff Writer
A majority of Chattanooga area residents polled in an April survey reported being in excellent or very good health, but one in five lacked health insurance sometime in the last year, according to a report issued today by the Community Research Council.
The survey found that respondents who said they were in fair or poor health were more than twice as likely to have been uninsured in the past year, the report stated.
Other findings in the report included:
-- The most common specified reason for lack of health insurance over the past year was an inability to pay a premium (23 percent), followed by having lost TennCare or other medical assistance eligibility (18 percent), and having recently changed employers (15 percent).
-- Blacks, younger people, those living in households earning less than $50,000 a year and those without a college education were more likely to be uninsured, the survey found.
-- A large majority of residents, about 86 percent, said that quality health care and hospitals were very important to the quality of life in Chattanooga. Quality health care ranked second among 15 quality of life indicators.
-- Most of those polled, about 74 percent, believe employers should offer health insurance.
The report is part of a larger project called the State of Chattanooga Region Report. The nonprofit Community Research Council will issue a full report on the project this fall, according to a news release.
E-mail Emily Berry at eberry@timesfreepress.com
See tomorrow’s Chattanooga Times Free Press for full coverage.
Staff Writer
A majority of Chattanooga area residents polled in an April survey reported being in excellent or very good health, but one in five lacked health insurance sometime in the last year, according to a report issued today by the Community Research Council.
The survey found that respondents who said they were in fair or poor health were more than twice as likely to have been uninsured in the past year, the report stated.
Other findings in the report included:
-- The most common specified reason for lack of health insurance over the past year was an inability to pay a premium (23 percent), followed by having lost TennCare or other medical assistance eligibility (18 percent), and having recently changed employers (15 percent).
-- Blacks, younger people, those living in households earning less than $50,000 a year and those without a college education were more likely to be uninsured, the survey found.
-- A large majority of residents, about 86 percent, said that quality health care and hospitals were very important to the quality of life in Chattanooga. Quality health care ranked second among 15 quality of life indicators.
-- Most of those polled, about 74 percent, believe employers should offer health insurance.
The report is part of a larger project called the State of Chattanooga Region Report. The nonprofit Community Research Council will issue a full report on the project this fall, according to a news release.
E-mail Emily Berry at eberry@timesfreepress.com
See tomorrow’s Chattanooga Times Free Press for full coverage.
