Back to Annual Meeting Page		American Public Health Association 133rd Annual Meeting & Exposition December 10-14, 2005 Philadelphia, PA

Abstract #102782

Gerald F. Kominski, PhD, Department of Health Services, UCLA School of Public Health, Box 951772, Los Angeles, CA 90095-1772, 310-794-2686, kominski@ucla.edu and Dylan Roby, MPhil, Center for Health Policy Research, University of California, Los Angeles, 10911 Weyburn Ave, Suite 300, Los Angeles, CA 90024.

This study documents the relative disparities in spending for direct personal health care services between California's uninsured and insured population (ages 0-64) and provides an estimate of the direct costs if the uninsured were provided with health insurance. The 1998-2000 Medical Expenditure Panel Survey was used in conjunction with the 2001 California Health Interview Survey in order to model direct medical expenditures in the state based on patient characteristics, health status, and other factors. Most of personal health care expenditures in the state come from full-year insured adults, with $43.1 billion (69%) spent from private insurance, public insurance, out-of-pocket costs, and other sources. Insured children account for 18% of expenditures. In comparison, spending by uninsured children and adults constitutes a combined 12% of expenditures, a total of $7.4 billion. If provided with health insurance, the uninsured would spend about $14.8 billion on direct health care if fully insured, compared to the $7.4 billion they already spend out-of-pocket or that is paid on their behalf from other public and private sources. This billion increase in expenditures represents a 12% increase in total direct personal health care expenditures in the state. The additional expense would be about $1,180 per uninsured person. Covering the uninsured is a significant step in improving the health status and quality of life by guaranteeing that no Californian will face access barriers as a result of losing their health insurance. The projections in this policy brief show that an expansion of health insurance would increase direct expenditures slightly.

Learning Objectives:

• To understand the differences in direct cost between the uninsured and insured in the state.
• To examine the possibility of resource distribution in order to provide health insurance.
• To understand the assumptions behind this model for predicting health care expenditures in California

Keywords: Universal Coverage, Health Insurance

Presenting author's disclosure statement:

I wish to disclose that I have NO financial interests or other relationship with the manufactures of commercial products, suppliers of commercial services or commercial supporters.