A new study to pinpoint how many uninsured residents live in the territory will allow the Virgin Islands to play a larger role in the national health care debate, according to Gov. John deJongh Jr.
DeJongh announced Thursday that the study, launched this week and conducted through the university’s Eastern Caribbean Center, will involve interviewers calling local households at random to collect the information.
"This date is critical as we advocate for fair and equitable treatment of the territory in the national health care debate," deJongh said in a statement Thursday. "We must have credible and up-to-date data on which to base our position."
The survey, which began Sunday, will continue for eight weeks. Interviewers from the Eastern Caribbean Center will ask questions on the health insurance status of the household’s members, their age, general health care, race and ethnicity, among other things.
Residents are being encouraged to participate if they’re called, the governor said, adding that the information gleaned from the survey could also help officials make changes to local health care delivery systems, which are "as much as 20 years overdue."
The survey is funded through a grant from the U.S. Department of the Interior and will be conducted with the Eastern Caribbean Center in conjunction with the State Health Access Data Assistance Center at the University of Minnesota, which deJongh said is one of the nation’s leading facilities in identifying, gathering and interpreting date on health care access and coverage.
