Oklahoma Health Outcomes
- Oklahoma is ranked 44th in overall health
- Every 24 minutes, someone dies in the U.S. due to a lack of health insurance
- 80 percent of Oklahomans who are uninsured are in working families
- Oklahomans without health insurance have difficulty accessing medical, dental, vision, mental health, and preventative care
The Current Situation for the Uninsured in Oklahoma
Oklahoma is in a health crisis. 17 percent of our population is uninsured or underinsured. In Oklahoma County, almost 1 in 4 are uninsured or underinsured. Uninsured individuals are less likely to receive preventive care and more likely to be hospitalized for conditions that could have been avoided. They receive primary care – if at all – at safety net clinics or hospital emergency rooms (ERs), all of which are overwhelmed: 53 percent of emergency room visits in 2005 were non-emergency cases.