Automobile Access

Bike Lane Access

Traffic Volume

Transportation

Diesel Particulate Matter

Fine Particulate Matter (PM2.5)

Ozone

Clean Environment

Park Access

Tree Canopy

Neighborhood

Above Poverty

Employed

Per Capita Income

Economic

Census Response

Voting

Social

Insured Adults

Healthcare Access

Homeownership

Housing Habitability

Severely Cost Burdened Low-Income Homeowners

Severely Cost Burdened Low-Income Renters

Uncrowded Housing

Housing

Bachelor's Education

High School Enrollment

Preschool Enrollment

Education

Outdoor Workers

Supermarket Access

Two Parent Households

Library Access

Safe Drinking Water

Public Transit Access

Decision Support

Everybody should have access to medical care when they need it and to keep their bodies healthy with regular check-ups. Research indicates that health insurance dramatically improves health outcomes by allowing people to access necessary care. One study found that people without health insurance had a 25% higher risk of mortality than insured individuals. Insurance allows people to receive ongoing, consistent care and establish ongoing relationships with medical providers. It also enables regular screenings and check-ups—helpful for early diagnosis and reduced mortality for cancers and other diseases. People with insurance are far more likely to get medicines to control chronic diseases. Insurance access also has community wide impacts, reducing the spread of communicable diseases. In addition, health insurance helps families save money on expensive medical care. Indeed, almost 50% of bankruptcies in the U.S. are due to medical expenses, and one study found that uninsured families can afford to pay for only 12% of hospitalization costs.

This indicator measures the percentage of adults aged 18 to 64 years with health insurance.

Bay Area Regional Health Inequities Initiative. (2015). Social determinants of health indicator. BARHII. Retrieved from https://www.barhii.org/sdoh-indicator-guide

U.S. Department of Labor. (2014, December). The social and economic effects of wage violations: Estimates for California and New York. ERG. Retrieved from https://www.dol.gov/sites/dolgov/files/OASP/legacy/files/WageViolationsReportDecember2014.pdf

Zuk, M., Bierbaum, A., Chapple, K., Gorska, K., Loukaitou-Sideris, A., Ong, P., & Thomas, T. (2014, March 3). Gentrification, displacement and the role of public investment: A literature review. Retrieved from http://iurd.berkeley.edu/uploads/Displacement_Lit_Review_Final.pdf

Schweinhart, S., Montie, J., Xiang, Z., Barnett, W. S., Belfield, C., & Nores, M. (2005). The high/scope Perry Preschool study through age 40. Retrieved from https://nieer.org/wp-content/uploads/2014/09/specialsummary_rev2011_02_2.pdf

Chappel, A. (2011, May). Value of health insurance: Few of the uninsured have adequate resources to pay potential hospital bills. ASPE. Retrieved from https://aspe.hhs.gov/reports/value-health-insurance-few-uninsured-have-adequate-resources-pay-potential-hospital-bills-0

Indicator-Based Information System for Public Health. (2020). Health indicator report of health insurance coverage: No health insurance coverage. IBIS. Retrieved from https://ibis.health.utah.gov/ibisph-view/indicator/view/HlthIns.html

Indicator-Based Information System for Public Health. (2020). Health indicator report of cost as a barrier to health care. IBIS. Retrieved from https://ibis.health.utah.gov/ibisph-view/indicator/view/CosBarHtlhCar.html

Goldman, A. L., & Sommers, B. D. (2020). Among low-income adults enrolled in Medicaid, churning decreased after the Affordable Care Act. Health Affairs, 39(1), 85–93. https://doi.org/10.1377/hlthaff.2019.00378

Wherry, L. R., Kenney, G. M., & Sommers, B. D. (2016). The Role of Public Health Insurance in Reducing Child Poverty. Academic Pediatrics, 16(3 Suppl), S98–S104. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.acap.2015.12.011

Cholera, R., Anderson, D., Raman, S. R., Hammill, B. G., DiPrete, B., Breskin, A., Wiener, C., Rathnayaka, N., Landi, S., Brookhart, M. A., Whitaker, R. G., Bettger, J. P., & Wong, C. A. (2021). Medicaid coverage disruptions among children enrolled in North Carolina Medicaid from 2016 to 2018. JAMA Health Forum, 2(12). https://doi.org/10.1001/jamahealthforum.2021.4283

Medicaid and CHIP Payment and Access Commission. (2018, August). Federal Medicaid requirements and state options: How states exercise flexibility under a Medicaid state plan. MACPAC. Retrieved from https://www.macpac.gov/wp-content/uploads/2017/03/Federal-Medicaid-Requirements-and-State-Options-How-States-Exercise-Flexibility-Under-a-State-Plan.pdf

Gordon, S., Sugar, S., Chen, L., Peters, C., Lew, N. D., & Sommers, B. (2021, December 7). Medicaid after pregnancy: State-level implications of extending postpartum coverage. ASPE. Retrieved from https://aspe.hhs.gov/sites/default/files/documents/cf9a715be16234b80054f14e9c9c0d13/medicaid-postpartum-coverage-ib%20.pdf

Executive Office of the President of the United States. (2014, December). The economics of early childhood investments. Obama White House. Retrieved from https://obamawhitehouse.archives.gov/sites/default/files/docs/the_economics_of_early_childhood_investments.pdf

Utah has been steadily improving health insurance coverage over the past decade. However, one in ten Utahns are still not covered.

 Undocumented people face special challenges due to ineligibility for many programs and the fear of deportation. For Utahns overall, research indicates that eligibility and cost are the primary barriers to coverage.

Improving insurance coverage therefore requires addressing these barriers, as well as helping people understand the options that are available. Jurisdictions wishing to improve health insurance coverage should first 

, especially in communities with lower rates of coverage, and 

 to ensure that as many people as possible are enrolled. In the longer term, jurisdictions should 

 options for people who are not eligible for or face barriers to current coverage options, and 

Provide Quality Care for Uninsured or Underinsured People

, with an emphasis on improving care and reducing costs by providing primary and preventative care.

Jurisdictions can also help people afford insurance premiums, or gain coverage through their work, with policies intended to support economic opportunities for workers. This includes efforts to 

Set up systems to reduce loss of coverage and identify opportunities to enroll people during special enrollment periods and incarceration. 

Equity

Promising

Jail Enrollment

Strong Evidence

Streamlining Medicaid and CHIP Eligibility and Enrollment

Sufficient Evidence

Enrollment Periods

Boost insurance coverage by conducting proactive outreach targeted and tailored to communities with lower rates of coverage.

In-Reach

Marketing and Media Campaigns

Community-Based Outreach

Help lift whole communities economically, so people can afford the necessities of a healthy life.

Increased Funding for Public Health Infrastructure

Worker Cooperative Support Initiatives (Emerging Practice)

Industrial Land Preservation Strategies 

Climate

Community Engagement and Connection

Small Business Retention Initiatives

Middle-Wage Job Creation Strategies 

Expand coverage options for people who are not eligible for, or face barriers to, current coverage options.

Expand Medicaid Coverage During Pregnancy and Postpartum

Coverage Expansion Programs

Use strategies to improve health through physical, emotional, and behavioral wellbeing.

Medical Homes

Behavioral Health Primary Care Integration

Ensure that people have pathways and training to good jobs that will allow them to stay out of poverty.

High School Education

Health Career Recruitment for Minority Students

Job-Focused Basic Skill Training Programs

Industry Driven, Sector-Based Training Programs

Paid Job Training and Placement Programs for Groups that Face Barriers to Employment

Early Childhood Education

Data can be collected, shared, analyzed and used to identify community needs and prioritize strategies to advance equity.

Healthy Neighborhoods

Health

Best Practice

Track Impact Data

Collect, Analyze, and Use Disaggregated Data

Raise workplace standards and wages to ensure that workers have access to employer-provided health insurance and are able to afford insurance premiums.

Paid Sick Day Policies 

Wage Theft Policies

Minimum Wage Ordinances

Living Wage Ordinances

Provide primary and preventive care to ensure the health of the approximate 385,000 Utahns without health insurance, or those with inadequate coverage.

The Global Payment Program 

Federally Qualified Health Centers (FQHCs)

Help families build and maintain wealth so that they can afford the necessities of life and save for their futures and their children's futures.

Policy Guide

Insured Adults

References