We analyzed the health and health insurance status of 879 problem gamblers who entered CalGETS outpatient treatment between July 1, 2016 and June 30, 2017.
Of clients in CalGETS treatment, 29% report very good or excellent health, 40% report good health, and 30% report fair or poor health. By contrast, 51% of Californians rate their health as very good or excellent, 32% as good, and 18% as fair or poor.
A total of 85% of clients report having health insurance coverage. This is less than the 89% reported for California as a whole. Additionally, 82% of treatment clients report having a physical check-up in the past two years. Just 4% reported that their doctor asked them about gambling.
Sources – Outpatient Gamblers: CalGETS Fiscal Year 2016-17 dataset, prepared for the California Department of Public Health, Office of Problem Gambling by the University of California Los Angeles Gambling Studies Program. California Health and Insured Status: Centers for Disease Control BRFSS data, 2018 website: https://www.cdc.gov/brfss/brfssprevalence/.
In California, problem gamblers can receive no-cost treatment through CalGETS. If you or someone you know has a gambling problem, call 1-800-GAMBLER.