DENVER – Counties in southwest Colorado lag the rest of the state in closing the uninsured health gap, according to a report released Tuesday.
The Colorado Health Access Survey, which was administered by the Colorado Health Institute, an organization that compiles data on health issues, highlighted Southwest Colorado’s uninsured rate of 11.1 percent – 9,851 people – which is the third-worst of Colorado’s 21 regions outlined in the survey.
The region includes La Plata, Archuleta, Dolores, Montezuma and San Juan counties.
The uninsured rate for the region dropped from 15.2 percent in 2013, but most other regions in Colorado showed more significant improvements.
Colorado’s uninsured rate dropped to a record low 6.7 percent, falling by more than half since 2013, when it stood at 14.3 percent, with 741,000 people without health insurance. In 2011, the state’s uninsured rate stood at a high of 15.8 percent. Nearly 5 million Coloradans – 93.3 percent – now have health insurance, according to the survey.
The survey provides the first in-depth glimpse into results following implementation of the Affordable Care Act, including Colorado’s online health-insurance exchange and the expansion of Medicaid. It covers two open-enrollment periods.
Results also pointed to a higher use of individual market insurance in the region – standing at 14.4 percent for 2015 – higher than the state average of 8.2 percent. Private individual market insurance tends to be more expensive.
Also, fewer employer-sponsored insurance options are offered in the region, at 41 percent for 2015, compared to 51 percent for the state.
But Kevin O’Connor, a health-coverage guide for the San Juan Basin Health Department, said Southwest Colorado is unique. The five counties in the region vary greatly in character and enrollment rates.
O’Connor added that enrollment rates are difficult to obtain and quantify, pointing out that other studies have shown different figures. A study by Washington, D.C.-based Enroll America found that La Plata County’s uninsured rate was only 8 percent, even before the most recent open-enrollment period.
“We know that there are still area residents that remain uninsured, and as a community we are working to reduce their numbers,” O’Connor said.
A coalition has been established, including the La Plata Family Centers Coalition, Archuleta County Human Services and Axis Health Systems. The coalition recently was awarded a grant that aims at reaching out to the uninsured.
“We at San Juan Basin Health Department are doing our own outreach to the uninsured with educational presentations at the local library and walk-in enrollment events across the region,” O’Connor said. “We are proud of our work and will continue to help community members obtain access to health care through enrollment in appropriate health-insurance plans.”