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Number of Coloradans uninsured is triple earlier figures, group says

Published September 21, 2007 at midnight

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The number of Colorado residents who didn't have health insurance for at least a portion of 2006-2007 numbered 1.4 million, according to a report released Thursday.

That is slightly less than triple the 562,800 number normally cited when talking about the state's uninsured population. The smaller number originated with the Lewin Group and reflects those who went without insurance for a full year between 2005 and 2007.

The Lewin Group are consultants working with the Blue Ribbon Commission on Health Care Reform, which uses their numbers in tackling the issue of how to cover the uninsured.

The U.S. Census Bureau puts the state's average number of uninsured at 758,800. However, the Lewin Group says that under reports the number of Colorado residents receiving Medicaid by about 30 percent.

Edie Sonn, spokeswoman for the commission, said there isn't a need to get hung up on the numbers.

"The numbers matter less than the impact and the cost shifts that result from that," Sonn said. "What matters at the end of the day is the cost and getting people covered."

The commission was given the task of recommending health care reform proposals to present to the legislature in January. Currently, there are four proposals that have been studied and a fifth is still incomplete. A first draft of that fifth proposal is due Monday.

Dede de Percin, executive director of the Colorado Consumer Health Initiative, said it is important to include those who were without health insurance for even a short time because it could be during that period they suffer a catastrophic health care emergency.

"It's sort of like Russian roulette," she said. "If you're uninsured for any period of time and you're in that catastrophic state, you become part of the reason costs are being driven up."

The study released Thursday was part of a broader picture nationally — ranking states by categories as well. One area the report focused on was the elderly who didn't have health insurance.

According to the report, compiled by the non-profit group Families USA, 34.2 percent of the elderly went without insurance for all of or part of a two-year period. Colorado joined 19 other states that had at least a third of that population without some kind of insurance.