1 in 5 Floridians uninsured
But incomes improved and poverty rates fell last year, a survey shows.
By HELEN HUNTLEY and STEPHEN NOHLGREN , Times Staff Writers
Published August 29, 2007
Floridians closed the income gap with the rest of the country last year, but a lack of medical insurance remained a huge and growing problem, the Census Bureau reported Tuesday.
In Florida, more than 20 percent of the population had no health insurance, more than any other state except Texas and New Mexico, according to the Census Bureau.
"We've seen a 39 percent increase in uninsured patients between the 2004 and 2006 fiscal years," said Anthony Escobio, director of patient financial services at Tampa General Hospital. "It just continues to put a strain on our finances."
The St. Petersburg Free Clinic said it has seen a steady increase in patients who have no other options for health care.
"The uninsured who are inflating those numbers are the working poor," said Ronda Russick, the clinic's director of health services.
Advocacy groups said the numbers show the importance of expanding the State Children's Health Insurance Program, now the subject of a political battle between Congress and President Bush.
In all, 47-million Americans had no health insurance last year, including 8.7-million children. That's 15.8 percent of the population.
"The numbers show we have continuing erosion in employer-based coverage," said Robert Greenstein, executive director of the Center on Budget and Policy Priorities in Washington, D.C.
Bright spots
The good news in the census figures released Tuesday: Real incomes - after adjusting for inflation - improved and poverty rates fell last year.
In Florida the median household income rose 3.7 percent, more than twice the national increase of 1.6 percent.
But Florida still lags the nation with a median household income of $45,495 compared to $48,451 nationally. Half of all households make more than the median and half make less.
Figures released by the Census Bureau, however, showed wide disparities in wealth and poverty across the state.
Some of the wealthiest areas were in suburban counties clustered around Jacksonville: Clay, Nassau and St. Johns. Right next door was one of the poorest counties, Putnam, where a quarter of the residents live below the federal poverty line.
All of the improvement in the national poverty rate last year occurred among people 65 and older, thanks to Social Security checks that won't make anyone rich, but usually keep people out of poverty.
Generation gap
Generational differences are striking in Hernando County, where fewer than 5 percent of residents older than 65 lived in poverty, but 22 percent of children did.
Hernando has experienced rapid growth in recent years, fueled by home prices and taxes that are lower than in the urbanized parts of the Tampa Bay area.
Retirees who can afford to move to Hernando and other parts of Florida aren't living in poverty.
On the other hand, the service and retail economy that supports them creates a low-wage job force, said Jean Rags, director of health and social services for the county. And waiters and lawn crews often have children to support.
"Between 2001 an 2005, our Medicaid population grew more than twice as fast as the total population," Rags said. "They come here thinking this is a cheap way of life. They are the working poor."
Pasco County, another hot spot for recent retirees, had only 5.7 percent of its older residents living in poverty, while Pinellas and Hillsborough, which are more builtout, mirrored the statewide and U.S. average of 10 percent.
Minority status
Miami-Dade County, on the other hand, had a higher percentage of older people than younger people - 22.7 vs. 19.6 - living in poverty, which is rare.
The Miami area not only has a sizable African-American community, where poverty is more common, but Hispanic and Haitian immigration also undermined the basic lifeline of Social Security.
"These people came in and did not speak the language. They tended toward low-income jobs. They had to get any kind of labor they can get," said Max Rothman, director of the Alliance for Aging.
"As they grew older, they may or may not have qualified for much Social Security."
Helen Huntley can be reached at hhuntley@sptimes.com or 727 893-8230. Steve Nohlgren can be reached at nohlgren@sptimes.com or (727) 893-8442.
Living in poverty
Some of the wealthiest areas of the state are in suburban counties clustered around Jacksonville: Clay, Nassau and St. Johns. Right next to them is one of the state's poorest counties, Putnam, where a quarter of the residents live below the federal poverty line.
Source: U.S. Census Bureau 2006 American Community Survey (margin of error various by county)
FAST FACTS
Income and health care
-In Florida the median household income rose 3.7 percent, more than twice the national increase of 1.6 percent. But Florida still lags the nation with a median household income of $45,495, compared to $48,451 nationally.
-In Florida, more than 20 percent of the population has no health insurance. Nationwide, 15.8 percent lacked health insurance.
On the Web
To see the results of the Census Bureau's American Community Survey released Tuesday go to www.census.gov/prod/2007pubs/p60-233.pdf.