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APHA Scientific Session and Event Listing

Recorded presentation

John A. Graves, BA and Sharon K. Long, PhD. Health Policy Center, The Urban Institute, 2100 M Street NW, Washington, DC 20037, 202-261-5776, jgraves@ui.urban.org

This study uses data from the 1999 and 2004 National Health Interview Survey (NHIS) to examine the self-reported reasons why non-elderly adults and children do not have health insurance coverage. Preliminary tabulations suggest that the most common reasons for uninsurance are the high cost of coverage, the loss of a job or a job change, an employer not offering ESI or the individual not being eligible for the ESI coverage, and the loss of eligibility for public coverage. As would be expected, the high cost of coverage is more of an issue for those with lower-incomes and for those with more health problems, including near-elderly adults. Also noteworthy, lost eligibility for public coverage is frequently a reason for a lack of coverage for children, especially low-income children. Using descriptive and multivariate methods, we examine how these reasons have changed over time nationally and in the twenty largest states. We find that the share of uninsured individuals reporting high costs and the lack of access to an employer-based policy as a reason for uninsurance have risen significantly over time, while the share reporting lost eligibility for public coverage has declined. We also examine patterns for key population subgroups (defined by race/ethnicity, income, age groups, health and disability status, etc.). This study was prepared for the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation's 2006 Cover the Uninsured Week initiative.

Learning Objectives: The objectives of this presentation are as follows

• Identify the self-reported reasons why non-elderly adults and children lack insurance coverage.
• Examine differences among important population subgroups (defined by race/ethnicity, income, age, and disability status).
• Discuss the issue from a national and state perspective.
• Analyze how these reasons have changed over time (1999-200
• generally and among population subgroups
• Using this knowledge, evaluate how various policy options could be targeted to reduce the number of uninsured.

Keywords: Health Insurance, Health Care Reform

Presenting author's disclosure statement:

Any relevant financial relationships? No

Recorded presentation