Health Care in Anderson, Oconee, Pickens Counties & SC

Health Care in Anderson, Oconee, Pickens Counties & SC

Did you know... Healthcare in SC

DID YOU KNOW…


Did you know that SC ranks 39th in quality of health care and 45th in care for pregnant women, earning an “F”?  Serious as that problem is,

Did you know that we live in a medical desert (Oconee, Pickens, Anderson) compared to the rest of South Carolina? For every 10,000 residents:

  • SC has 9.9 primary care providers, Oconee has 7.7.
  • SC has 8.7 nurse practitioners, Pickens has 6.4. 
  • SC has 2.1 psychologists and psychiatrists, Anderson has 1.4.

Did you know that 17%-25% of local mothers receive inadequate prenatal care, SC 18%?

DESPITE inadequacy of health care for many, 22% of South Carolinians have medical debt in collection, third highest in the country.

— Submitted by Janet Marsh, Member, LWVOP Health Care Team

Health Care in Anderson/Oconee/Pickens Counties & SC
Demand & Supply - a brief description

Demand ...

  Anderson Oconee Pickens South Carolina
         

Populationi

 204,353 78,607 127,983 5,118,425

Uninsured Status, Adults 18-64ii

 7.3% (20,352) 18.1% (8,070) 15.1% (11,279) 15,4%

Adults Delayed Medical, due to Cost

 16.0%iii 17.5%iv 14.1%v 14.9%vi

Percent of Mothers Receiving Inadequate Prenatalvii

  24.7%  22.6%  17.4%  18.0%

Medical Debtviii

        
  • Share of credit files with medical debt in collection
 28.1% 25.6% 25.6% 22.0%
  •  Median medical debt
  $1,359  $1,662  $1,555 NA

 Supply of Medical Professionals...

  Anderson   Oconee Pickens  South Carolina 
         

Primary Care Providers (per 10,000)ix

  9.5  7.7  6.1  9.9

Pediatricians (per 10,000)x

  1.2  0.9  1.0  0.7xi

Nurse Practitioners (per 10,000)xii

  7.0  7.0  6.4  8.7

Optometristsxiii

  NA  0.8  NA  1.1

Psychologists and Psychiatrists (per 10,000)xiv

  1.4 NA  0.7   2.1

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i SCDHEC Vital Statistics, 2020.
ii US Census Bureau, SAHIE, 2020.
iii SC DHEC BRFSS, 2016-2020.
iv SC DHEC BRFSS, 2019.
v SC DHEC BRFSS, 2019.
vi SC DHEC BRFSS, 2020.
vii SC DHEC Vital Statistics, 2015-2017. SC 18% at 2022MarchofDimes.org/reportcard.
viii Urban Institute, Urban Data Catalog, Debt in American 2022. SC has second-worst rate of residents with medical debt in collections in the country. 
ix SC Office of Healthcare Workforce, SC Health Professions Data Book. 
x Ibid., 2021.
xi US Bureau of Labor Statistics: Occupation, Employment, & Wages, May 2022.
xii SC Office of Healthcare Workforce, SC Health Professions Data Book.
xiii Ibid., 2021.
xiv Ibid.