Local physician notes import of Cover the Uninsured Week

By BILL RICHMOND

City editor

St. Vincent Randolph Hospital physician Alison Syme said Cover the Uninsured Week, April 27-May 3, is a time to be mindful of the 44 million Americans without health insurance.

"To be truthful, that's only the tip of the iceberg," Syme said. "What is dramatically underreported is for those of us with insurance, of course our premiums are going up by an average of 12 percent per year - which doesn't include co-pay and deductible increases.

"The folks that are probably hurt the most are the self-insured, whether they be farmers or small-business owners. They don't have the benefit of a group and if they have insurance, their deductible may be $2,500 or $5,000 because otherwise their premium would be very high. So it's mostly catastrophic insurance, just so that if they have a heart attack, need bypass surgery or have a farm accident they don't lose the farm."

Syme said the 44 million uninsured figure doesn't really capture the true strain of health care today. It is estimated that 13 percent of Randolph County citizens do not have insurance and 30 percent of local children live in poverty.

"Children often have access to Medicaid health insurance," Syme said. "But, of course, their families who are either not working or working below the poverty level are not eligible for health benefits through Medicaid. If you think of kids as being only as healthy as their families, it's a real problem."

The St. Vincent Randolph physician network and its outpatient clinics have aggressive wellness plans, designed to make sure local people have access to routine tests and take preventative measures against disease. The hospital sponsors at least two health fairs each year - often more. SVR also sponsors a farm health initiative that provides special programming for farm families.

"It would be unusual for someone to come in for a sick visit and not have their reminders for preventative care," she said. "The doctors routinely ask if patients have had their cholesterol tests, are they up to date with their mammograms and pap tests and have they had their colonoscope."

The hospital also has an income-based financial assistance program for low income families who are uninsured or underinsured.

Syme said Governor Mitch Daniels' Healthy Indiana Plan (HIP), a state program that offers basic health coverage to qualified Hoosiers who do not have assess to employer-sponsored heath insurance, looks like an exciting option for some local residents.

"The HIP program is funded by cigarette tax money," she said. "It is income-based health insurance for the uninsured, so it's not a replacement for self-employed people. For income-eligible adults without access to other insurance it looks like a great plan."

She said HIP premiums are based on income and there are a limited number of spots available, so interested persons should check it out soon.

The local HIP resource can be contacted at (765) 584-0929.