Gaps in health coverage among working-age Americans and the consequences

This paper examines health coverage and access to care among working-age adults using the Kaiser/Commonwealth 1997 National Survey of Health Insurance. One in three (52 million) working-age adults were either uninsured at the time of the survey or had a recent gap in their health coverage in the past two years. Having even a temporary gap in health coverage made a significant difference in access to care. Compared to the elderly, who are continuously covered by Medicare, working-age adults have greater problems paying their medical bills and gaining access to care and are less satisfied with their health insurance coverage.     

Health care expenditures among working-age adults with physical disabilities: Variations by disability spans

BackgroundData on health care costs for working-age adults with physical disabilities are sparse and the dynamic nature of disability is not captured.ObjectivesTo assess the effect of 3 types of disability status (persistent disability, temporary disability, and no disability) on health care expenditures, out-of-pocket (OOP) spending, and financial burden.MethodsData from Medical Expenditure Panel Survey panel 12 (2007–2008) were used. Respondents were classified into 3 groups. Medians of average annual expenditures, OOP expenditures, and financial ratios were weighted. The package R was used for quantile regression analyses.ResultsFifteen percent of the working-age population reported persistent disabilities and 7% had temporary disabilities. The persistent disability group had the greatest unadjusted annual medians for total expenditures ($4234), OOP expenses ($591), and financial burden ratios (1.59), followed by the temporary disability group ($1612, $388, 0.71 respectively). The persistent disability group paid approximately 15% of total health care expenditures out-of-pocket, while the temporary disability group and the no disability group each paid 22% out-of-pocket. After adjusting for other factors, quantile regression shows that the persistent disability group had significantly higher total expenditures, OOP expenses, and financial burden ratios (coefficients 1664, 156, 0.58 respectively) relative to the no disability group at the 50th percentile. Results for the temporary disability group show a similar trend except for OOP expenses.ConclusionsPeople who have disabling conditions for a longer period have better financial protection against OOP health care expenses but face greater financial burdens because of their higher out-of-pocket expenditures and their socioeconomic disadvantages.     

Adverse health behaviors and chronic conditions in working-age women with disabilities

This retrospective, cross-sectional, multiple cohort study of women with disabilities addresses two health-related areas in a nationally representative sample of women living in the community. Using data from the 1997-1998 National Health Interview Survey (NHIS), health risk behaviors and chronic conditions were examined for women with mild, moderate, and severe functional limitations, and their responses were compared to those of women who reported no limitations. Women with severe limitations evidenced the highest risk for heavy cigarette smoking. They were also more likely to meet the Body Mass Index criterion for obesity. Adverse health behaviors were strongly associated with the five potentially disabling chronic conditions that were studied.     

Economic class and differential access to care: comparisons among health care systems.

This paper presents a new technique for describing inequality of access to medical care. Access is described by the empirical relationship between need and the probability of entering the health care system for treatment. The need-entry probability relationship for one population group is compared with that for another population group to determine the extent of access differentials (differences in entry probabilities) at varying levels of need. As an illustrative application, the technique is employed to describe access differentials by economic class in six different geographic areas located in five different countries (Canada, England, Finland, Poland, United States) with differently structured health care systems. Although the findings for adults varied considerably from area to area, the access differentials among children were surprisingly consistent and unrelated to health care system structure. In particular, it appears that higher family income is associated with greater access to medical care among children at all levels of need. The paper concludes with suggestions for further applications of the proposed technique to problems of monitoring and evaluating the effectiveness of policies aimed at reducing the extent of access inequality.     

Satisfaction with quality and access to health care among people with disabling conditions.

OBJECTIVE: To compare satisfaction with health care between persons with and without disabling conditions. DESIGN: Responses to 1996 Medicare Current Beneficiary Survey. SETTING: Nationally representative of the United States population. STUDY PARTICIPANTS: Community-dwelling Medicare beneficiaries, older and younger than 65 years (n = 16 403). MAIN OUTCOME MEASURE: Adjusted odds of being dissatisfied or very dissatisfied with five general quality measures and five access-to-care measures by five disabling conditions (blind or low vision, deaf or hard of hearing, difficulty walking, difficulty reaching, manual dexterity difficulties). Multivariable logistic regressions on dissatisfaction adjusted for age group, sex, disabling condition, race, ethnicity, urban versus rural residence, education, household income < $25 000 versus > or = $25 000, having a usual source of care, proxy respondent, and managed care. RESULTS: Of an estimated 33.58 million non-institutionalized Medicare beneficiaries, 64.1% (estimated 21.51 million) reported at least one disabling condition. Among younger beneficiaries, 10.4% with any major disability were dissatisfied with their care overall, as were 4.6% without disabilities. Nevertheless, persons with disabilities generally had significantly higher adjusted odds of dissatisfaction. For elderly persons with any major disability, the adjusted odds ratios (95% confidence interval) of dissatisfaction were: 3.2 (2.4-4.3) for overall quality; 3.2 (2.2-4.6) for access to specialists; 4.4 (3.1-6.4) for follow-up; and 4.2 (3.1-5.7) for ease of getting to doctors. Elderly managed care enrollees were less satisfied with access to specialists, but more satisfied with costs. CONCLUSION: The quality domains generating the greatest dissatisfaction were anticipated, given the nature of disabling conditions. Improving these areas requires attention inside and outside the health care system. Redesigning practice settings and procedures, and changing payment policies offer the only solutions to some problems.     

Managed care and women's health: access, preventive services, and satisfaction.

This paper examines insured women's access to health care, receipt of preventive services, and satisfaction with care by the types of health plans in which they are enrolled. Three types of plans are compared: managed care (HMOs and PPOs), fee-for-service with utilization controls, and traditional fee-for-service. For women who have been enrolled in their plans for at least one year, we find the same or better access to care in managed care plans as compared with other plans; receipt of more gender-specific clinical preventive services in managed care plans, but no differences among types of plans for non-gender-specific preventive services or counseling services; and lower satisfaction with care in managed care plans. The implications for practice and policy are discussed.     

Health care access,use, and satisfaction among disabled Medicaid beneficiaries

Despite being a vulnerable and costly population, little is known about disabled Medicaid beneficiaries. Using data from a 1999-2000 survey, we describe the population and their health care experiences in terms of access, use, and satisfaction with care. Results indicate that disabled beneficiaries are a unique population with wide-ranging circumstances and health conditions. Our results on access to care were indeterminate: by some measures, they had good access, but by others they did not. Beneficiaries' assessments of their health care were more clear: The bulk of the sample rated one or more area of care as being fair or poor.     

Dually-eligible working-age adults with disabilities: Issues and challenges as health reform is implemented

This special section on working-age adults with disabilities dually eligible for Medicare and Medicaid is based on two panel presentations at the June 2012 meeting of the AcademyHealth Disability Research Interest Group. The papers included here consider the issues of health care access and outcomes as well as employment for this group of approximately four million individuals, many with complex health care needs and high costs.     

Changes in health insurance coverage and health care access as teens with disabilities transition to adulthood

BackgroundPre-ACA, less than 6% of children with disabilities were uninsured, compared with more than 42% of young adults with disabilities ages 19–25. Individuals with disabilities face greater barriers to health care access upon transition into adulthood.ObjectivesWe examined whether the ACA dependent coverage provision and Medicaid expansion improved the transition from pediatric to adult healthcare systems by reducing the gap in insurance coverage and access to care between teens and young adults with disabilities.MethodsUsing cross-sectional data from the 2006–2009 and 2011–2015 National Health Interview Survey (n = 10,136), we estimate the change in insurance coverage and access to care from pre-to post-ACA time periods for teens (ages 13–18) and young adults (ages 19–25) with disabilities in a difference-in-differences model. We completed the same analyses for these groups in Medicaid expansion and non-expansion states.ResultsBoth teens and young adults with disabilities made significant gains in insurance coverage (4.55 and 8.96% point gains respectively, p < .001) and access to care (4.01 and 3.14% points decline in delayed care due to cost, p < .05) under the dependent coverage provision and Medicaid expansion.ConclusionsMedicaid expansion had a greater impact on both insurance coverage and on access to care than did the dependent coverage provision. The benefits of these changes flowed primarily to young adults with disabilities, reducing the gaps in insurance coverage between teens and young adults, and expanding access to care for both groups, providing a more seamless transition from pediatric to adult health care systems, post-ACA.     

Caring for patients in a malpractice crisis: physician satisfaction and quality of care

The rhetoric of malpractice reform is at fever pitch, but political advocacy does not necessarily reflect grassroots opinion. To determine whether the ongoing liability crisis has greatly reduced physicians' professional satisfaction, we surveyed specialist physicians in Pennsylvania. We found widespread discontent among physicians practicing in high-liability environments, which seems to be compounded by other financial and administrative pressures. Opinion alone should not determine public policy, but physicians' perceptions matter for two reasons. First, perceptions influence behavior with respect to practice environment and clinical decision making. Second, perceptions influence the physician-patient relationship and the interpersonal quality of care.     

Americans' views of health care costs, access, and quality

For more than two decades, polls have shown that Americans are dissatisfied with their current health care system. However, the public's views on how to change the current system are more conflicted than often suggested by individual poll results. At the same time, Americans are both dissatisfied with the current health care system and relatively satisfied with their own health care arrangements. As a result of the conflict between these views and the public's distrust of government, there often is a wide gap between the public's support for a set of principles concerning what needs to be done about the overall problems facing the nation's health care system and their support for specific policies designed to achieve those goals.     

Uncovering health care inequalities among adults with intellectual and developmental disabilities

Even as attention is drawn to the increasing number of individuals who experience health inequalities in the United States, little is known about the health inequalities experienced by individuals with intellectual and developmental disabilities. Current disability research mainly focuses on physical disabilities. This article discusses the health disparities experienced by individuals with intellectual and developmental disabilities.The authors conducted focus groups with parents/guardians, self-advocates, and community support professionals and key informant interviews with health care professionals to assess the needs of this less frequently documented population. Results from this study indicate that individuals with intellectual and developmental disabilities face health care disparities and inequities in four areas: access, knowledge, communication, and quality.     

Inequalities in access to health care for people with disabilities in Chile: the limits of universal health coverage

We analysed cross-sectional data collected as part of the National Socioeconomic Characterisation Survey (2013) in Chile, in order to explore if there are differences in access to health care between adult Chileans with and without disability. The study included 7459 Chilean adults with disability and 68,695 people without disability. Logistic regressions were performed in order to determine the adjusted odds ratios for the associated variables. We found that despite universal health coverage, Chileans with disabilities are more likely to report worse access to health care, even when controlling for socio-economic and demographic variables, including age, gender and income. Specifically, they are more likely to face greater difficulty arriving at a health facility, obtaining a doctor’s appointment, being attended to in a health facility, paying for treatment due to cost, and obtaining necessary medicine. Both people with and without disability are more likely to face difficulties in accessing health services if they are affiliated with the public health provider, an indication of the economic factors at play in accessing health care. This study shows that universal health coverage does not always lead to accessibility of health services and underlines the disadvantaged position of disabled people in Chile in accessing health services. While efforts have been made recently to improve equity in health care access, disability in Chile poses an additional burden on people’s access to health care, emphasising the necessity for policy to address this perpetual cycle of disadvantage for disabled people.     

Paid and unpaid carers: their role in and satisfaction with primary health care for people with learning disabilities

To a large extent the health care needs of people with learning disabilities living in the community have been neglected by policy makers, purchasers and providers. One result is that the role of carers, paid and unpaid, in monitoring and promoting health has been ignored. This article reports on interviews with carers and is drawn from a study which examined the delivery of primary health care to people with learning disabilities. A range of topics was covered during interview including: carers’ perceptions of their role, contact with and assessment of general practitioners’(GPs’) skills, difficulties experienced during consultations, views about medication, health promotion and health screening. Results indicated that insufficient attention is paid to the needs of people with learning disabilities in respect of health promotion, health screening and regular hearing and sight tests. Whilst generally satisfied with the care provided by GPs, carers made many suggestions about how to improve the standard of care offered. Suggestions for supporting paid and unpaid carers in order to fulfil their role are made. The need for joint strategies at the operational level and strategic level is also discussed.     

Patient satisfaction and experience with health services and quality of care

This article discusses the use of patient satisfaction and personal health care experiences as a measure of health care quality. It also presents a field-proven patient experience and satisfaction assessment methodology known as the Patient Experience Survey (PES) that has been employed throughout the country for the last decade. Finally, it offers recommendations and comments on the use of patient satisfaction data in quality assessment and improvement.