Operation Access patients are people in our communities who fall between the cracks in our healthcare system. Patients are typically adults working in the service sector with no health benefits. They don’t earn enough to pay for their own health insurance, but aren’t able to qualify for government insurance programs.
Uninsured patients that are unable to afford surgery face overwhelming obstacles to obtaining necessary treatment. For example, the average cost an uninsured patient would be charged by a private hospital to repair a hernia is approximately $15,000 or more. This is far out of reach for the OA patients, who in 2007 had an average income of $8,885 for an individual and $20,800 for a family of 4.
Depending on the availability of local county healthcare resources, our patients often find themselves with no way to obtain necessary surgical procedures. Patients are most likely to postpone treatment and experience worsening symptoms until an emergency developed.
Click here for complete eligibility guidelines.
Demographics of patients referred in 2007:
| Ethnicity: |
| Latino |
72% |
| Caucasian |
11% |
| Asian |
11% |
African American
|
3% |
| Other |
3% |
|
|
| Primary Language: |
| Spanish |
65% |
| English |
26% |
| Cantonese & Mandarin |
4% |
Portuguese
|
1% |
Tagalog & Vietnamese
|
2% |
| Other |
2% |
|
|
| % Needing Interpreters |
| 66% |
|
| |
|
|
|
|
| Gender: |
| Female |
54% |
| Male |
46% |
|
|
| Average Income: |
| Individual |
$8,885 |
| Family of Four |
$20,800 |
|
|
|
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