Pittsburgh Metro area ranks 2nd in health insurance

[RamboLiberal]

The national debate over the plight of people without health insurance directly affects an unusually small portion of Pittsburgh's population, as new data show it is among the best-insured parts of the country.

Of the 25 largest metropolitan areas, Pittsburgh trails only Boston in its share of people with health insurance coverage. Nearly 92 percent of people of all ages in the seven-county region have public or private insurance, compared to less than 85 percent nationally, according to data released yesterday by the U.S. Census Bureau.

The health insurance information is among wide-ranging topics covered by the bureau's 2008 American Community Survey, a sampling of 3 million households. The annual survey replaces the census long form that formerly accompanied the national head count every 10 years.

The survey provided insurance-coverage estimates for the first time for the nation's cities and counties above 65,000 in population. Analysts offered several reasons why Pittsburgh fares well in rankings:

• Nearly all people over 65 have Medicare coverage, and Pittsburgh has a larger proportion of that age group than elsewhere: 17.1 percent in the metropolitan area compared to 12.8 percent for the nation.



Read more: http://www.post-gazette.com/pg/09265/999766-455.stm#ixzz0RoAfrWY2

[demodonkey]

1. Well guess what... I'm in the UNinsured 8%. nt

[dropkickpa]

4. Most of my immediate family is in that 8% too

Of the 10 of us (my parents, me and my 5 brothers, and the 2 sisters-in-law) only five of us have health insurance, one of those is woefully under insured, so he never uses it because it's so horribly expensive, he only has it in case of emergencies. One sister-in-law only has medicaid right now because she is pregnant, that will be gone as soon as the baby is born. She and my brother own their business, but can in no way afford insurance. The other brother and his wife who own their business can't afford insurance either.

Four of my brothers have gone 10+ years without seeing a doctor (except for ER visits). I worry about my little brother who's a plumber because he sometimes does work on big projects where he's in a trench and if there should ever be an accident, the hospital bills would bankrupt the whole family.

And forget the dentist, they're just brushing and flossing and hoping their teeth are okay. They've each had at least one pulled rather than pay for more expensive work because preventative care is so expensive and waiting until it's so bad it needs to be extracted at the dental shcool is relatively cheap. I went 7 years without and it sucked!

[Freddie Stubbs]

2. Boston in probably #1 due to the state's mandate that everyone have insurance

[whyverne]

3. See how awful it is when the Democrats have a lock? n/t