The Sangamon County Citizens Survey, released last week and available online, showed that 93% of respondents have health care insurance coverage and 89% have a primary care doctor. Yet despite having doctors and insurance, a lot of residents just don’t feel good. Some 39% said that in the last month there was at least one day their physical health was not good, and 41% said they had at least one bad mental health day. Why? There are hints in the “social health” section, where respondents rated obesity the top problem (54%) and opioid use a close second. Lack of access to mental health care and tobacco use weren’t far behind. The survey is another reminder that providing insurance and doctors is only a first step toward better health in Sangamon County. For more on the survey, see the page 7 news report by Erick Zepeda, our editorial intern and a senior at DePaul University. –Fletcher Farrar, editor and CEO
This article appears in Aug 29 – Sep 4, 2019.
