In Montezuma County, 16 percent of residents were uninsured in 2015, which is down from 20 percent in 2000 but 7 percentage points higher than the Colorado average of 9 percent, the report said.
The Region 9 Economic Development District’s report examined health care in Archuleta, Dolores, La Plata, Montezuma and San Juan counties as part of its 2016 Southwest Colorado Index Report.
Report author Donna Graves said the findings represent a positive shift toward integrated health care and a more well-rounded approach to care. Providers are treating not only the body and mind, but also the culture of their patients, she said.
“It’s really a positive paradigm shift in the way that we look at health care,” Graves said. “It’s a more holistic approach than we’ve seen in the past.”
Areas of study include percentage of uninsured residents, hospital emergency departments, pharmacies, safety net clinics, oral health care, behavioral health care, child health, people with disabilities, senior health, hospice care and leading causes of death.
According to the report, the percentage of people without health insurance has decreased since 2000 in every Region 9 county except San Juan, where it has increased by 2 percent.
According to the Colorado Health Institute’s 2015 report on insurance coverage, the percentage of uninsured Coloradans has fallen to 9 percent. That’s an improvement over 2013, when 14 percent of residents did not have health insurance. Those most at risk for being uninsured are residents living in poverty, which is 38 percent of all uninsured, up from 36 percent in 2013.
Across Colorado, Hispanics continue to be the most disproportionately uninsured group – representing 37 percent of all uninsured and 20 percent of the population.
The percentage of children in poverty in Montezuma County in 2013 was 30 percent, nearly double the state average of 17 percent. About 10 percent of children were born at a low weight, which is above the state average of 9 percent. About 16 percent of women smoked during pregnancy, more than double the state average of 7 percent, the report states.
Southwest Health System marketing director Haley Leonard said Region 9 did an excellent job in compiling the report.
“It’s really important to have accurate information that shows the whole picture so people can see what’s really going on in the county,” she said.
Uninsured or less-insured residents may visit safety net clinics, which include community health centers, stand-alone clinics, rural health clinics and school-based health centers. Designed to provide accessible health care to those who are uninsured or covered by public health plans such as Medicare and Medicaid, safety net clinics have increased in number from six in 2007 to 15 in 2016 in the five counties. There are nine in Montezuma County.
Six pharmacies operate in Montezuma County, the same number reported in 2001, according to the report. No pharmacy was reported in Dolores County.
In 2015, there were 2,425 patient visits to dentists in Montezuma County, up from 537 visits in 2003, according to the report. Three dentists in Montezuma County accept Medicaid, compared with one in 2007. In 1997, there was only one dentist in the entire five-county Region 9 accepting Medicaid, according to the report.
Axis Health System reports 1,162 mental health clients served from Montezuma and Dolores counties in 2015, up from 1.079 in 2006.
There were 58 suicides in Montezuma County from 2008 to 2014, an average of about 8.2 suicides per year, according to the report.
Graves said she regretted that the health care report had not been updated since 2008. A lot has happened since then, she said, and she hopes to provide more frequent updates.
“I think we need to revisit this to see how integrated health care is working,” she said.