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South Carolina's Uninsured Children

Unduplicated Count of Children Hospitalized or Visiting the Emergency Room in South Carolina with an "Uninsured" Status and Not Found on the Medicaid Eligibility File by June of the Following Year: 1998-2002

1998: 16,272
1999: 13,255
2000: 11,809
2001: 10,558
2002: 9,466
 

Percent Change in the Number of Children Hospitalized or Visiting the Emergency Room in South Carolina with an "Uninsured" Status and Not Found on the Medicaid Eligibility File by June of the Following Year

Years Percent Change
1998 to 1999 -18.54%
1999 to 2000 -10.91%
2000 to 2001 -10.59%
2001 to 2002 -10.34%
1998 to 2002 -41.83%

 

Percent Change in Inpatient Admissions or Emergency Room Visits for Children with a Status of "Uninsured" and Not Found on the Medicaid Eligibility File by June of the Following Year: 1998-2002

Abbeville: -58%
Aiken: -77%
Allendale: -54%
Anderson: -47%
Bamberg: -33%
Barnwell: -53%
Beaufort: -28%
Berkeley: -8%
Calhoun: +60%
Charleston: +4%
Cherokee: -91%
Chester: +52%
Chesterfield: -38%
Clarendon: -56%
Colleton: -22%
Darlington: -76%
Dillon: -45%
Dorchester: -42%
Edgefield: -69%
Fairfield: -45%
Florence: -48%
Georgetown: -51%
Greenville: -39%
Greenwood: -4%
Hampton: +33%
Horry: -56%
Jasper: -44%
Kershaw: -30%
Lancaster: -67%
Laurens: +53%
Lee: -74%
Lexington: -54%
McCormick: -57%
Marion: -60%
Marlboro: -61%
Newberry: -47%
Oconee: -51%
Orangeburg: +209%
Pickens: -49%
Richland: -60%
Saluda: -47%
Spartanburg: -28%
Sumter: -63%
Union: -3%
Williamsburg: -37%
York: -42%
 

Number of Visits and Charges For Children Visiting the Emergency Room with Insurance Status of "Uninsured": 1998-2002

Year Uninsured Children Visiting the E.R. E.R. Visits Visits Per Child Total E.R. Charges Average Charge Per Visit Average Charge Per Child
1998 15,862 19,701 1.2 $5,521,449 $280 $348
1999 12,884 16,004 1.2 $5,084,922 $318 $395
2000 11,458 14,289 1.2 $5,151,766 $361 $450
2001 10,272 12,688 1.2 $5,233,630 $412 $510
2002 9,162 11,216 1.2 $5,384,020 $480 $588

If the same number of uninsured children visited the emergency room in 2002 as in 1998, the total charges for 2002 would have been and additional $4,000,000.
 

Number of Discharges and Charges For Children Hospitalized with Insurance Status of "Uninsured": 1998-2002

Year Uninsured Children Hospitalized Discharges Discharges Per Child Total Inpatient Charges Average Charge Per Discharge Average Charge Per Child
1998 625 678 1.1 $3,689,993 $5,442 $5,904
1999 579 633 1.1 $3,513,917 $5,551 $6,069
2000 509 543 1.1 $3,358,226 $6,185 $6,598
2001 439 481 1.1 $3,589,156 $7,462 $8,176
2002 469 522 1.1 $4,690,779 $8,986 $10,002

If the same number of uninsured children were hospitalized in 2002 as in 1998, the total charges for 2002 would have been and additional $1,400,000.
 

Unduplicated Count of Children Hospitalized or Visiting the Emergency Room in South Carolina by Race: 1998 and 2002

Year White African-American Hispanic Other
1998 60.2% 34.7% 2.1% 2.9%
2002 56.2% 27.7% 4.5% 11.6%

 

Unduplicated Count of Children Hospitalized or Visiting the Emergency Room in South Carolina by Age Cohort: 1998 and 2002

Year Under 1 1 to 4 5 to 9 10 to 14 15 to 17
1998 4.4% 17.8% 22.9% 25.6% 29.3%
2002 5.6% 19.3% 21.2% 26.1% 27.8%

 

Percent Change from 1998 to 2002 for the 1998 Top Ten Reasons for Children Hospitalized or Visiting the Emergency Room in South Carolina with "Uninsured" Status and Not Found on the Medicaid Eligibility File by June of the Following Year

Total: -42.2%
Ottis Media SUPPUR/NOS: -40.7%
Other Open Wound of the Head: -38.2%
Acute Pharyngitis: -50.1%
Sprain of Back NEC/NOS: -53.0%
AC URI Mult Sites/NOS: -29.3%
General Symptoms: -34.2%
Observation - Suspect Cond: -42.8%
Contusion Face/Scalp/Neck: -43.3%
Other Abdomen/Pelvis Symp: -40.7%
Contusion Leg and Other Site: -55.1%
 

Percent of Children Uninsured in the United States, South Carolina, and South Carolina Regions: 2002

United States: 11.6%
South Carolina: 17.4%
Upstate Region: 17.0%
Pee Dee Region: 26.3%
Midlands Region: 17.2%
Low Country Region: 16.4%

Source: South Carolina State Planning Grant, Household Survey on Insurance Status.
 

Percent of Children Uninsured in South Caroina by Age: 2002

Under 5 Years: 15.5%
5 to 9 Years: 16.6%
10 to 14 Years: 20.7%
15 to 17 Years: 18.5%

Source: South Carolina State Planning Grant, Household Survey on Insurance Status.
 

Percent of Children Uninsured in South Caroina by Gender: 2002

Male: 19.0%
Female: 16.4%

Source: South Carolina State Planning Grant, Household Survey on Insurance Status.
 

Percent of Children Uninsured in South Caroina by Race: 2002

White: 19.4%
African-American: 12.1%
Other: 41.6%

Source: South Carolina State Planning Grant, Household Survey on Insurance Status.
 

Insurance Status of South Carolina Households with Children by Income Level: 2002

Income Range Medicaid Other Insurance Uninsured
Under $10,000 67.3% 15.4% 17.4%
$10,000 to $24,999 50.0% 31.0% 18.9%
$25,000 to $49,999 10.0% 66.5% 23.6%
$50,000 or More 2.0% 85.2% 12.8%

Source: South Carolina State Planning Grant, Household Survey on Insurance Status.
 

Income Distribution of South Carolina Households with Uninsured Children: 2002

Income Under $10,000: 5%
$10,000 to $24,999: 16%
$25,000 to $49,999: 41%
$50,000 or More: 24%
Refused/Don't Know: 15%

Source: South Carolina State Planning Grant, Household Survey on Insurance Status.
 

Education Distribution of South Carolina Households with Uninsured Children: 2002

Less Than High School: 15%
High School: 45%
Some College: 28%
4+ Years of College: 11%

Source: South Carolina State Planning Grant, Household Survey on Insurance Status.
 

Marital Status of South Carolina Households with Uninsured Children: 2002

Married: 77%
Never Married: 14%
Divorced/Separated: 8%
Widowed: 2%

Source: South Carolina State Planning Grant, Household Survey on Insurance Status.
 

Employment Status of South Carolina Households with Uninsured Children: 2002

Employed by Someone: 42%
Self-Employed: 25%
Unemployed: 27%
Full-Time Student: 5%

Source: South Carolina State Planning Grant, Household Survey on Insurance Status.
 

Reasons persons did not purchase individual health plan for family (for those persons who did not answer yes to having coverage through an employer)

Could Not Afford: 77.0%
Not Eligible for Health Reasons: 3.1%
Don't Need Insurance: 6.7%
Coverage Through Another Source: 2.3%
Spouse Doesn't Want to Sign Family: 6.7%

Source: South Carolina State Planning Grant, Household Survey on Insurance Status.
 

If insurance was offered through the adult answering the survey, and the person could have signed up for insurance but didn't, what was the main reason?

Could Not Afford: 56.7%
Haven't Worked Long Enough: 26.7%
Don't Work Enough Hours: 3.3%
Benefits Package Didn't Meet Needs: 6.7%
Missed Enrollment Period: 6.7%

Source: South Carolina State Planning Grant, Household Survey on Insurance Status.
 

If insurance was offered through the spouse, and the spouse could have signed up for insurance but didn't, what was the main reason?

Could Not Afford: 73.3%
Separated From Spouse: 6.7%
Will Be Covered After Waiting Period: 6.7%
Waiting Period Not Over Before Sign: 6.7%
Spouse Doesn't Want to Sign Family: 6.7%

Source: South Carolina State Planning Grant, Household Survey on Insurance Status.
 

South Carolina Employers by Number of Employees and Offer of Health Insurance

Number of Employees Offers Health Insurance Does Not Offer Health Insurance
Less Than 10 Employees 47.5% 52.6%
10 to 25 Employees 77.5% 22.5%
26 to 50 Employees 91.0% 9.0%
51 to 100 Employees 95.6% 4.4%

Source: South Carolina State Planning Grant, Small Employers Health Insurance Survey, 2003.
 

South Carolina Employees by Business Size

Class Size (# of Employees in Class) # of Employees by Class Percent of Employees by Size of Business
0 to 4 98,720 6.83%
5 to 9 128,197 8.87%
10 to 19 164,481 11.38%
20 to 49 249,057 17.24%
50 to 100 195,152 13.51%
100 to 249 236,309 16.35%
250+ 373,042 25.82%
Total 1,444,958 100%

Note: Does not include self-employed or government employers.

Employment Security Commission, March 2003.
 

Health Expenditures Per Capita, U.S. Dollars PPP, 2001

Mexico: $586
Poland: $629
Korea: $893
Czech Republic: $1,105
United Kingdom: $1,992
Sweden: $2,270
France: $2,503
Germany: $2,808
Canada: $2,792
United States: $4,887

Source: OECD Health Data, 2003.
 

  
 

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Charleston, SC 29417
Phone: 843.577.4122
E-mail: charleston@palmettoproject.org

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This web site is intended solely for the purpose of electronically providing South Carolinians with general health and insurance-related information, and convenient access to resources. This website does not provide health insurance advice, referrals, or counseling.