In California, where approximately 6.5 million residents — 20% of the state's population — are uninsured, the issues of access to health coverage and care are particularly pertinent. The California HealthCare Foundation (CHCF) has gathered a set of resources that describe California's uninsured population; discuss the consequences of being without coverage for individual Californians and the impact on California's health care system; and analyze proposals and support efforts to expand coverage.

Cover the Uninsured Week, May 10-16, 2004, will bring national attention to the large and growing numbers of Americans without health insurance. Uninsured people are less likely to obtain care on a timely basis, more likely to be without a regular provider of health care, and more often experience poorer health outcomes than insured people. Sponsored by The Robert Wood Johnson Foundation, The California Endowment, the W.K. Kellogg Foundation, and many others, Cover the Uninsured Week aims to make the issue of the uninsured a focus of national discussion.

Issues covered at CHCF's Uninsured Web page include multiple reports, resources, and perspectives on:

• Who are California's uninsured?
• Why are Californians uninsured?
• Consequences of being without health coverage
• Coverage expansion proposals

According to Marian Mulkey, senior program officer at CHCF, "Uninsured Californians are diverse and face different barriers to obtaining coverage. These resources describe the diversity of the population and put proposed coverage expansion strategies in the context of California's demographic profile, as well as its unique regulatory and market environment."

Note: Since this press release was issued, the content to which it refers has been removed.