The Issue:
Access to Healthcare

With the high cost of healthcare today, paying out-of-pocket to see a doctor is financially impossible for most people. Without health insurance many people must simply go without medical care, and hope for the best.

As a result, they often develop illnesses that could have otherwise been prevented had they been receiving ongoing check-ups and preventative care. About 18,000 unnecessary deaths occur each year because of lack of health insurance, making it the 6th leading cause of death among people ages 25-64.

One in four Illinois residents under 65 has no health insurance and 80% of them are from working families.

Please donate or volunteer by clicking here.

Sadly, one in six people in Illinois is uninsured—and the majority of them live in the Chicagoland area. And, contrary to popular belief, 80% of those uninsured individuals are from working families. Some work well over 40 hours a week at several different jobs, but do not receive benefits because each job is part-time.

Others work full-time for employers who are no longer offering health insurance (due to soaring healthcare costs) or are asking employees to pay more than they could possibly afford for coverage. Ironically, because these people are working, they often do not qualify for Medicaid or other government healthcare subsidies.

Your United Way support provides: subsidized healthcare clinics; counseling and ongoing support for people with mental illness and substance abuse issues; specialized care for seniors and services for people with disabilities; assistance in accessing and navigating the complex Medicare and Medicaid systems.

An older gentleman