Harrisonburg Has Highest Number of Uninsured in Virginia
October 1, 2009 • By Matt Sutherland, Contributing Writer
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Young Adults Also Likely to be Uninsured
HARRISONBURG, Va. — Junior philosophy major Ian Collins doesn’t have health care insurance, but he is not rallying just for the right to have it.
“I honestly couldn’t care less if I have health care insurance. Laughter and music are the two best medicines in the world,” Collins said. “It’s all about taking that money, and putting it back into the community. Instead of denying us, we need to be working with people that are actually sick.”
Instead, Collins is merely protesting against an “unjust health care system.”
Last Thursday, about a dozen JMU students and Harrisonburg citizens gathered in Court Square to rally for federal health care reform. Collins portrayed a corporate health giant in a skit, as he handed out denials to those with diabetes, cancer and heart disease.
Health care reform has become one of the most important goals of Obama’s presidency. According to Time magazine, of the 89 percent of American citizens with insurance, almost 60 percent get coverage from their employer. About 27 percent, mostly senior citizens, receive their insurance from a government program.
The remainders of those insured buy individually from health insurance companies, such as Aetna or the BlueCross BlueShield Association. Some people argue that this route is too expensive and not reliable enough when a medical emergency happens.
The newest draft of Obama’s health care plan, formulated by Senate Finance Committee chairman Max Baucus (D-Mont.), allows for a “public option” in the nation’s health insurance system.
The public option is a theoretical plan proposed by the president. The idea is comprised of a health care plan run by the federal government that would compete with privatized companies.
Baucus’ plan, however, calls for a buffer between the public and the government. Instead of the government-run option, as Obama first proposed, Baucus’ plan would create a network of nonprofit organizations to give health care to virtually any American citizen at lower costs. Despite intense criticism from Republicans, Baucus’ plan will not force anyone to give up their private insurance.
According to The Washington Post, the $856 billion plan will need to be paid for through higher taxes. These taxes would bring about $250 billion in revenue for the new health bill in its first 10 years.
Harrisonburg has the highest percentage of uninsured citizens in Virginia, reaching 28.5 percent. That is nearly double the rate of Virginia’s uninsured, which is about 15 percent.
Christopher Nye, the executive director of the Harrisonburg Community Health Center, said the uninsured rate in Harrisonburg is fairly predictable, citing both the student and immigrant populations as major factors in the statistic.
“As a proportion of the population, the JMU students represent, again, more of the proportion of the population in Harrisonburg,” Nye said. “There is a larger immigrant population in Harrisonburg, and those persons tend to be in the job sector that, again, doesn’t pay a lot and doesn’t offer health insurance.”
According to Time Young adults, particularly after graduating college, are most likely to be uninsured. More than one-third of the uninsured population is between the ages of 19 to 29.
While many college students receive health care from their parents’ insurance plans, many don’t understand the health care issues.
Junior media arts and design major Mike Dumblauskas had never seen statistics about health care before.
“I seriously didn’t know [uninsured rates were that high,” Dumblauskas said. “We’re college students, and I guess we overlook that sometimes, but I’ll definitely be looking at it in the future.”
According to statistics from the U.S. Census Bureau in 2006, the trend of uninsured people increases in college towns.
Blacksburg has a 27.7 percent uninsured rate, while Charlottesville has a 24.7 percent uninsured rate.
While many of those uninsured in small college towns are recent graduates, Michael Cassidy, executive director of the Commonwealth Institute, states in the Richmond Times Dispatch that this is an uncondensed problem affecting many people across the state.
“It highlights the challenges we face. It’s not just a problem of cities versus counties or urban versus rural,” Cassidy said. “Across the state, families are struggling with this problem of not having insurance.”
Contact Matt Sutherland at suthermh@jmu.edu.
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