the challenge :: Ensure that all Americans can get the care they need

The Census Bureau reports that there were 45 million uninsured persons in the United States in 2003, the most recent year for which data is available. But, as the graph below shows, the uninsured are not all alike, and there is no single solution that can reach them all.

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About one-third of the uninsured are eligible for existing government programs, and a similar number have incomes high enough to buy insurance. The remainder—those with low incomes who are not eligible for existing government programs—are likely to be in low-wage jobs for small employers who do not provide health insurance.

Low-income uninsured individuals and families lack access to preventive care and treatment for basic health problems. For these Americans, health care is often too little or too late. As a result, society bears the cost of caring for advanced health problems that could have been prevented or managed at an earlier stage. And insured patients, and taxpayers, end up shouldering costs of caring for those without coverage.

In addition to a lack of coverage, there are other barriers that keep people from receiving appropriate health care. These include a shortage of health care facilities and professionals in some rural and inner-city communities, language or cultural barriers, or the inability to navigate the complexities of the health care system.

Stepping up to expand health care access represents a very real opportunity to improve Americans’ health, to reduce health care costs, and to broaden the pool of insured patients to make health care work better for all.

our part :: What WellPoint is doing to expand access to health care

Reaching more people with a choice of affordable coverage options. Health benefits companies can be part of the solution by reaching the uninsured who can afford coverage in the private market. WellPoint is actively marketing products with pricing and features that provide value to people who don’t think they need insurance. One such product is Tonik—aimed at “young invincibles” aged 19 to 29. (Click here for more info.)

By giving people good reasons to buy coverage, and by providing more affordable options to more people, we can reduce the number of uninsured Americans. In 2004, WellPoint companies provided new individual policies to an estimated 375,000 people who had previously been uninsured.

Finding ways to provide coverage to low-income Americans. The most difficult challenge is covering the uninsured who can’t afford private insurance and aren’t eligible for existing government programs. As the nation’s leading health benefits company, WellPoint believes we have a responsibility to help shape public policy solutions to address this challenge.

First, our nation can make insurance more affordable by offering refundable tax credits to small employers and low-wage workers, and by allowing greater flexibility to offer lower-cost coverage. At the same time, we should implement targeted extensions in current government programs to reach more low-income Americans.

Overcoming other barriers to health care access. Of the 6 million people who do not have health insurance in California, more than 3 million are Hispanic. In 2004, Blue Cross of California began to accept the Matricula Consular—an identification card issued by Mexican consulates to their citizens living in the United States—as a valid form of identification to buy health insurance.

Anthem Blue Cross and Blue Shield’s Web site, Anthem.com en Español, serves the growing Hispanic population with customized and culturally sensitive information. A special feature of the site, MiSalud@Anthem, offers health news, provider information and other tools to help Spanish-speaking members manage their health care.

WellPoint is also working to overcome the barriers created by a lack of local health care resources in many communities. We support community clinics, telemedicine and mobile care initiatives to improve access in under-served areas of many of our states. To take just one example, through its funding of free clinics during the past decade, Anthem Blue Cross and Blue Shield in Virginia has supported more than $30 million worth of medical services for low-income Virginians.