Oregon Public Broadcasting

Every family in Oregon that’s lucky enough to have health care, spends about $1,000 extra for that care because of the uninsured, according to a study released Thursday. Kristian Foden-Vencil reports.

If you’re sick and uninsured you have two choices. Pay to see your doctor or go to bed until you feel better.

While bed rest might work for less serious ailments, progressive diseases will get worse until you end up in the ER: the most expensive place to get treated.

Families USA, a non-profit that backs health care reform, looked into how much those ER visits cost the insured in each state.

Director Ron Pollock says it amounts to more than $1,000 per Oregon family.

Ron Pollock: “People with health insurance, or business that provide health insurance for their workers, they don’t just have a passing interest in extending health coverage for the uninsured, they actually have a major financial interest in extending coverage.”

Pollock says the cost of providing health care to the uninsured is rising at about 10 percent a year. More when the economy is bad.