Become a Member! (click here) New Hampshire: How We're Doing on Health Care Here's a glimpse at where NH is in terms of upholding its citizens' right to health care. In New Hampshire: There are approximately 96,000 people under age 65 who are uninsured (NH Department of Health and Human Services, 1999). As many as 25,000 of them are children. The majority of people who are uninsured are working people. Most are either not offered health insurance by their employers or are ineligible for coverage. Most cannot afford to purchase health insurance for their families - insurance that could cost them $1,000 per month or more. People lacking health insurance live throughout New Hampshire, but are more densely clustered in the north and central regions of the state and in the urban centers such as Concord, Manchester, and Portsmouth. Most are between the ages of 19 and 44. As the economy continues to worsen and health insurance premiums skyrocket (by approximately 15 percent per year), the number of the uninsured will increase. Mounting health insurance premiums also leads to the insidious problem of "under-insurance," (people have insurance but that insurance doesn't cover all of their needs). This happens when employers downgrade benefits to offset the cost of increasing premiums or when people can only afford catastrophic coverage when purchasing insurance on their own. Important and effective elements of quality health care - such as mental health services, treatment for alcohol/drug addiction, prescription drug benefits - are often left out of these coverage equations as individuals and employers attempt to keep insurance premiums affordable. Individuals who lack health insurance are: Three times more likely to die in the hospital More likely to have hospital or emergency room visits that could have been avoided More likely to be hospitalized for conditions that could have avoided inpatient care such as pneumonia and uncontrolled diabetes More likely to report that they did not receive care for a serious health condition (20 percent versus 3 percent of insured) or postpone care for serious problems (28 percent versus 5 percent) Four times more likely to have unmet health needs if they are an adolescent between the ages of 10 and 18 Less likely to have routine checkups or regular health screenings. Insured adults are at least 50 percent more likely to have had various preventive exams in the past year than uninsured adults