Nearly 1 in 5 in Culpeper have no coverage

The U.S. Census Bureau estimates that 15.5 percent of Virginians don’t have health insurance.

In Culpeper County, 18.2 percent of the population (more than 7,000 people) is uninsured, according to census data from 2006 released Monday.

The percentages in neighboring counties are all higher than the state average as well — the lowest being Orange (16.1) and the highest being Rappahannock (24.3).

Dr. Dana Bradshaw, district health director, said the public health system in the five-county region is increasingly responding to people who otherwise would not have access to care.

“We try to fill some of the gaps in the private system as best we can because we want to make sure everybody gets access to the care they need,” he said from the Fauquier County Health Department in a phone interview Wednesday.

Local health departments provide maternity care, Bradshaw said, pointing to an area that produces a significant amount of patients.

In Culpeper and Fauquier counties, he added, the percentage of minority women given maternity care through the health department is disproportionate to the total population.

Bradshaw was not surprised by area percentages of the uninsured reported by the census. He referenced a health department report from a few years ago that found, on average, about 21 percent of patients visiting area emergency rooms did not have health insurance.

Culpeper Regional Hospital spokeswoman Abra Hogarth said the local hospital has realized a significant increase in charity care in the past year.

“Times are tough, and many people have lost their jobs and with that their health insurance,” she said. “Unfortunately, our uninsured volumes have increased.”

Overall, the state had 1.03 million people, or 15.5 percent, without health insurance in 2006. But the number probably has increased since then, said Judith Cash, deputy director of the Virginia Health Care Foundation.

“The world has changed significantly since 2006 in terms of the economy, people having jobs, and people having health insurance,” she said. “These data aren’t showing us the impact of the current recession and unemployment and people losing their insurance coverage.”

Norma Dunwody, director at the Free Clinic of Culpeper, agreed. On average, the clinic is seeing about five new patients per week.

“Many of our new patients have recently lost their jobs (and) are finding themselves without health insurance for the first time in their lives,” said Dunwody.

The census projections released Monday also show that the percentage of uninsured is higher in college towns.

Harrisonburg, home to James Madison University, had the state’s highest rate at 28.5 percent. The rate in Montgomery County, which includes Virginia Tech, was 27.7 percent. Charlottesville, home to the University of Virginia, was 24.7 percent.

Michael Cassidy, director of the Commonwealth Institute, counted about 70 localities higher than the state average and about 60 lower.

“Of the ones with high rates, you see a real mix of urban and rural areas in the state,” he said. “It highlights the challenges we face. It’s not just a problem of cities vs. counties or urban vs. rural. Across the state, families are struggling with this problem of not having insurance.”

Percentage with
no health coverage

Locality Pct.
Harrisonburg 28.5 *
Charlottesville 24.7
Rappahannock Co. 24.3
Madison Co. 23.0
Culpeper Co. 18.2
Fauquier Co. 16.8
Orange Co. 16.1
Virginia 15.5

* Highest in state

Source: 2006 statistics released Monday from the U.S. Census Bureau