An Analysis of the Health Insurance Coverage of Young Adults (original) (raw)
Related papers
Young adults in Massachusetts: Who is at risk of being uninsured?
Journal of Adolescent Health, 2004
To identify sociodemographic factors associated with being uninsured among young adults in a state sample (Massachusetts) and to examine the independent association of insurance status with the young adult's reporting no health maintenance visit (check-up) in the past 2 years or reporting an inability to afford needed health care in the last 12 months. Methods: Secondary analysis of data from the Massachusetts Behavioral Risk Factor Surveillance System for the years 1998-2000. In this cross-sectional study, data were examined for 1673 19-to 24-years-olds who provided information on sociodemographic variables, health insurance status, perceived inability to afford care, and health care use. Multiple logistic regression was used to estimate the odds of being uninsured. Subsequently, multiple logistic regression was used to estimate the odds of having no checkup in the last 2 years and of reporting the inability to afford needed health care in the last year. Results: 15% of young adults were uninsured, including 20% of males and 10% of females. For both genders, the adjusted odds of being uninsured were lower for students and higher for those with a household income between 15,000and15,000 and 15,000and24,999. Uninsured young men, but not women, had significantly higher odds of not having a routine checkup in the last 2 years. Uninsured young adults of both genders had significantly higher odds of reporting the inability to afford needed care in the past 12 months. Conclusions: Programs and policies that seek to reduce the rates of uninsured young adults should especially target males and nonstudents. Improving health insurance coverage, especially for young adult males, may be associated with improved preventive health care access.
The Impact of State Dependent Coverage Expansions on Young Adult insurance Status: Further Analysis
2010
Young adults are more likely to be medically uninsured than any other age group: In 2008, 28.6 percent of individuals ages 18 to 24 and 26.5 percent of those between 25 and 34 lacked coverage. By comparison, less than one-fifth of persons ages 35 to 64 and less than one-tenth of children under age 18 were uninsured in 2008. [1 The relatively high rates of uninsurance among young adults may impact their current and future health and health care needs. While young adults as a population have fewer healthcare needs than older adults, they are in a critical developmental period during which the potential long-term risks of conditions and behaviors such as obesity, tobacco use, and sexually transmitted infections, are best addressed. Additionally, uninsured young adults who do have healthcare needs are two-to-four times more likely than their insured peers to delay or forgo medical care or a prescription due to costs. [2] ] RESEARCH AT A GLANCE This report uses data from the Current Population Survey to evaluate the impact of dependent coverage expansion initiatives in 19 states on health insurance coverage of young adults between 2003 and 2008. The authors also examine the variation in impact among population subgroups over time. The report concludes with a discussion of the implications of national health reform, which expands dependent coverage to age 26 across states. KEY FINDINGS • The authors find no evidence that initiatives to expand dependent coverage were accompanied by a decline in the likelihood that a young adult would be uninsured or have non-group or public coverage. • The smallest increase in dependent coverage is seen among the full sample of young adults ages 19 to 29, and the largest increase is seen among young adults ages 19 to 25 residing with their parents. Still, no decline in the uninsured rate is observed in any of the groups examined. • The authors' findings suggest differential time effects for the impacts of dependent coverage expansions, depending on the nature of the targeted sample (age and residence with or without parents). Overall, however, the offsetting effects of declines in own-name employer-sponsored insurance (ESI) remain over time, with no reduction in uninsured rates among eligible young adults.
Public health reports (Washington, D.C. : 1974)
Lack of health insurance coverage for working-age adults is one of the most pressing issues facing the U.S. population, and it continues to be a concern for a large number of people. In the absence of a national solution, the states and municipalities are left to address this need. We examined the disparities in uninsurance prevalence by state and metropolitan areas in the U.S. and among racial/ethnic groups. Data from the 2006 Behavioral Risk Factor Surveillance System (BRFSS) were analyzed for working-age adults 18 to 64 years of age. In 2006, according to the BRFSS data, overall 18.6% (standard error = 0.20) of working-age adults were without health insurance coverage; by state, this proportion ranged from 9.7% to 29.0%. Health insurance coverage varied by state and metropolitan area and racial/ethnic group, and a higher age-adjusted prevalence of uninsurance was observed for non-Hispanic black and Hispanic respondents. A substantial proportion of working-age Americans remain wit...
Journal of Community Health, 2008
To use data from the Behavioral Risk Factor Surveillance System (BRFSS) to examine trends in the lack of health insurance coverage among working-age US adults and to identify populations without coverage. The BRFSS data from 1993 to 2006 were analyzed. SUDAAN software was used to generate estimates of prevalence and corresponding standard errors, and logistic regression techniques were used to examine trends in the data. An estimated 18.59% of working adults (aged 18-64 years) did not have health insurance coverage in 2006. Trend in uninsurance remained somewhat stable from 1993 to 2000 (OR = 1.01; 95% CI 1.00-1.02); however, it changed more rapidly from 2001 to 2006 (OR = 1.03; 1.02-1.03). Similar patterns were observed from 2001 to 2006 for those \35 years of age, employed, Hispanics and those with less than or high school education. Effective approaches to reducing uninsurance and the consequences related to lack of coverage are needed in the face of increasing health disparities in the United States.