Live in York County? You probably have health insurance. Census data explains why.
Amid a public health crisis, there’s reason in at least one key area to believe York County entered it in better position than its neighbors.
The U.S. Census Bureau on Thursday released new estimates for health insurance coverage. Those pre-Covid-19 estimates show York County has the lowest percentage of uninsured residents of any county in South Carolina, and in any county from Florida to North Carolina.
The data covers all 3,141 counties and equivalent areas in the country, for residents 65 and younger. It shows an overall decline in uninsured percentages from 2006 to the most recent data for 2018. There have been slight upticks in some areas since 2016. More counties saw significant increases in uninsured rates the past two years, than saw declines.
York County had an uninsured rate in 2018 of 9.8%. It’s been on a downward trajectory since a high of 18.7% in 2010. Lancaster County (12.3% in 2018), Chester County (11.6%) and Mecklenburg County (13%) follow roughly the same path the past decade. Chester County had the seventh lowest rate in South Carolina. Lancaster County tied for 16th lowest.
South Carolina and North Carolina saw their most recent rates at a matching 12.7%. The federal uninsured rate for 2018 was 10.4%.
York County had the second lowest uninsured rate in South Carolina (3.6%) for residents under age 19. Men in York County were uninsured at a lower rate (10.5%) than anywhere in the state, by a fair margin of 1.6%. York County had the fourth lowest rate among women, at 9.2%. Demographics by race weren’t given.
York County ranked only 15th lowest in South Carolina among counties for uninsured rate for people who earn up to 400% of the poverty level. Those residents were uninsured at 14.5%, which suggests a significant impact from the overall low uninsured rate in the county comes from higher earners.
“People are working,” said David Swenson, director of York County Economic Development. “When you work, your chance on insurance coverage is greater.”
Prior to the past three weeks of record unemployment claim filings not only in York County but throughout South Carolina and beyond, the job outlook in York County was strong. U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics data ranked York County No. 4 nationally among the nation’s 335 largest counties for third quarter 2019 employment growth, at 4.4%.
The same data shows York County in the top 10 for quarterly job growth the past four reported quarters. Twice since 2016, York County led the nation for quarterly job growth. York County employment is up 33% since 2012.
“It’s our business climate, our location, our clustering of businesses and our affordable cost of living,” Swenson said.
Overall and prime working age residents in York County are employed at higher rates, Swenson said, than state and federal levels. That recipe, he said, helps create low uninsured rates.
“We’ve seen really good employment growth and jobs,” he said. “People here have jobs either in-county or out-of-county that provide insurance coverage. If you look at the data elements on (work) participation rate, we do really well there.”
York County Council chair Michael Johnson said local demographics lend to high insurance coverage.
“When you look at our demographics, especially average income levels, it makes sense that employers in this area are offering health insurance,” he said. “At one point prior to COVID-19 York County had low single-digit unemployment. In my opinion that creates a situation where employers must provide health insurance in order to lure workers.”
Employers have to provide a variety of incentives, he said, if they want employees who will stay long-term in an area with steady job growth.
“I think health insurance is part of that package,” Johnson said.
The coronavirus has widespread economic impact not only on individuals with or without health coverage, but on large medical facilities. On April 7 the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services announced it delivered $34 billion in a week to healthcare providers though expansion of programs to make sure providers and suppliers have resources to fight the pandemic.
“Healthcare providers are making massive financial sacrifices to care for the influx of coronavirus patients,” CMS Administrator Seema Verma said in the April 7 release. “Many are rightly complying with federal recommendations to delay non-essential elective surgeries to preserve capacity and personal protective equipment. They shouldn’t be penalized for doing the right thing.”
On April 6, MUSC Health announced pay cuts and temporary layoffs system-wide. Those changes include Chester Medical Center and Lancaster Medical Center, major hospitals in those counties.
