Abstract:
Objective: Health insurance coverage for all Americans is an important public health objective that has not yet been realized. An estimated 44.3 million people in the United States, or 16.3% of the population, are uninsured. In order to improve the health insurance coverage in the US, policy makers need to understand the underlying factors influencing the insurance status. The focus of this study is to identify underlying sociodemographic factors influencing insurance status in the general population 18-64 years old. This group, being bypassed by the recent efforts of Medicaid, CHIP, and Medicare, deserves a special attention in the efforts towards developing universal health coverage.
Methods: The study data come from the 1996-1997 household survey conducted by the Community Tracking Study. The total of 40,118 persons age 18-64 were analyzed, using SAS and SUDAAN. The demographic and utilization factors were compared between insured and uninsured population, and a logistic regression model built with the insurance status as the dependent variable.
Results: Among the 40,118 persons 18-64 years old, 15.4% are uninsured. Compared to the insured, more uninsured persons reside in the South and West regions of the US, are Hispanics, male, not married, below 200% of federal poverty level, work more than 35 hours a week , have less than High School education, and are self-employed. Our findings suggest that region, race, gender, marriage status, federal poverty level, hours at work, employment type, and education are significant predictors of the insurance status among nonelderly population in the US.
Learning Objectives: At the end of the session, the participant will be able to identify at least five factors that are important predictors of insurance status among nonelderly Americans, and assess and apply this knowledge to develop policy recomendations toward universal health care
Keywords: Health Insurance, Barriers to Care
Presenting author's disclosure statement:
Organization/institution whose products or services will be discussed: None
I do not have any significant financial interest/arrangement or affiliation with any organization/institution whose products or services are being discussed in this session.