Parents’ Perspectives on Their Children’s Health Insurance: Plight of the Underinsured - 13/01/13
Abstract |
Objectives |
To determine the prevalence and correlates of children’s underinsurance within a primary care, practice-based research network.
Study design |
A survey of 13 practices within the Southwestern Ohio Ambulatory Research Network using the Medical Expenses for Children Survey in 2009 and 2010 yielded a sample of 2972 parents of children >6 months old with health insurance in the previous 12 months. Data were analyzed using bivariate and loglinear model analyses.
Results |
Of the study children, 17.2% were classified as underinsured because of their inability to pay for ≥1 of their pediatrician’s recommendations for care in the past 12 months. In addition, 15.5% reported it was harder to get medical care for their child in the past 3 years, and 6.5% indicated that their child’s health had suffered. Multivariate analysis reveals complex relationships among the 3 factors related to ability to obtain care and between these factors and sociodemographic and health status factors. Across education and income categories, the underinsured rate ranged from 57% to 93% for parents who reported their child’s health had suffered.
Conclusions |
One in 6 parents reported that their child was underinsured. A similar percentage reported that it had become more difficult to get needed medical care over the past 3 years. The relationship between the perception that an underinsured child’s health has suffered is much stronger for the highest socioeconomic category in this sample than for the other categories; 93% of these families were underinsured in 2009. It is possible that high deductible features of insurance plans contribute to these circumstances.
Le texte complet de cet article est disponible en PDF.Keyword : RR, SOAR-Net
Plan
Funded in part by the Health Resources and Service Administration (D54HP05465). The authors declare no conflicts of interest. |
Vol 162 - N° 2
P. 403 - février 2013 Retour au numéroBienvenue sur EM-consulte, la référence des professionnels de santé.
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