The 1st Thread For 8/24/10: Almost A Quarter In California Have No Health Insurance

What an encouraging number, isn't it?

The number of Californians who lost jobs and health insurance probably increased in every county last year, according to a study released Monday by the UCLA Center for Health Policy Research.

The new analysis found that 37 counties -- including Imperial, Kern and Shasta -- had uninsured rates above the statewide average of 24.3%.

"Different parts of the state were more adversely impacted than others, but really it is spread across the state," said one of the study's authors, Shana Alex Lavarreda, the center's director of health insurance studies.

"You have counties from Kern to Shasta that were hit very hard with averages over what we saw in Los Angeles," she added.

The report backs up the findings of a previous study the center released in March that showed nearly one in four Californians lack health insurance. According to the latest estimates, the state's uninsured population has reached 24.3%, or about 8.4 million, up from 6.4 million in 2007.

Will these people still or now uninsured be able to even make it to 2014, those people who aren't young anymore to qualify under their parent's plan, to get coverage?

Our "fierce urgency of now", watching more people steadily get off coverage until it is just too late.