CLEVELAND, Ohio -- An increasing number of adults in Ohio and across the country are losing employer-provided insurance and enrolling in

and

, another indication that the American health care system isn't working, says Jennifer Chubinski, director of community research for the nonprofit

.

The nonpartisan group released data Monday that show that more than one in five Ohio adults 18 through 64 years old is now covered by public insurance.

In 2006, 12 percent of them were covered by Medicaid, Medicare or VA benefits. This year, that jumped to 21 percent.

At the same time, the number of 18- to 64-year-olds with employer-provided health insurance dropped from 64 percent to 53 percent.

The information was collected in the 2012 Ohio Health Issues Poll, funded by the health foundation and conducted by the Institute for Policy Research at the University of Cincinnati.

Ohio's numbers mirror what is happening throughout the United States, Chubinski said in a telephone interview.

"Ohio is not unique here," Chubinski said. "We're seeing this all across the country.

"It's just another indication that our current health-care system is not sustainable. It was built on the premise that many people would get their health insurance from employers.

"That system is breaking slowly and we've got to do something to change it or we're going to end up with a lot of people on public insurance or uninsured."

That worries many in the health care field because people without insurance often don't seek medical care until they're severely ill. By then, their lives may be in jeopardy and their care costs many times what early treatment or prevention would have.

The survey also found that 17 percent of Ohio adults had no health insurance when the survey was conducted, May 29 through June 6. That number has remained steady for the past several years.

Ninety-nine percent of Ohio residents 65 and older are insured, nearly all of them covered by Medicare, government-funded insurance for the elderly and disabled.

The survey results are especially concerning, Chubinski said, because of the strong link between insurance and good health.

Twenty-six percent of adults who said they were in fair or poor health were uninsured while 11 percent of those who said they were in excellent or very good health had no insurance.

"This tells us that insurance coverage for more of our citizens is an essential factor in improving their health," she said in a written statement.

The survey also found:

• 19 percent of Northeast Ohio adults, 18 through 64, are uninsured, compared with a high of 24 percent in Northwest Ohio and a low of 13 percent in Central Ohio.

• 22 percent of those living in rural communities and small cities were uninsured compared with 11 percent living in suburban counties and 19 percent in urban counties.

The Health Foundation of Greater Cincinnati awards grants to nonprofit and government agencies working to improve health in Cincinnati and 20 surrounding counties in Ohio, Indiana and Kentucky. It commissions the study at least once a year.