The Health Care Needs Of The Elderly And Chronically Disabled In Massachusetts

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ISBN 13 :
Total Pages : 111 pages
Book Rating : 4.:/5 (53 download)

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Download or read book Access to Health Care in Massachusetts written by and published by . This book was released on 2009 with total page 111 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Unmet: Need More than one-fifth (21%) of residents did not get the care they needed due to cost in the 12 months prior to the 2009 survey, with the level higher for non-elderly adults (27%) than children (9%) or elderly adults (15%). Uninsured residents had an especially high degree of unmet need, with 67% of uninsured non-elderly adults forgoing needed care due to cost. Although not as high, unmet need because of costs was also more common for residents with lower family income and those in fair or poor health or with a disability. While there were few changes in unmet need because of costs between 2008 and 2009 within subgroups based on age, family income, race/ethnicity, health status, disability status, or insurance status, unmet need rose among elderly adults with family income less than 150% FPL, and declined among children with family income less than 150% FPL and Hispanic children. Barriers to Care: Despite relatively high use of health care services among residents, more than one-fifth (22%) reported having problems obtaining health care in the past 12 months in 2009. Non-elderly adults were more likely to report problems obtaining health care (27%) than either children (14%) or elderly adults (15%). The estimates of difficulty obtaining care for 2009 are not significantly different from those for 2008. The disabled and those in fair or poor health were most likely to report difficulties. In 2009, some 30% of children with a disability or in fair or poor health reported problems obtaining health care in the past 12 months, compared with 13% of healthy, non-disabled children. Similarly, 38% of non-elderly adults in fair or poor health reported difficulties, compared with 26% of other non-elderly adults. Medical Bills: Some 15% of residents lived in families reporting difficulties paying medical bills in 2009. Children and non-elderly adults, those with lower family incomes, the uninsured, the disabled, and those in fair or poor health had the greatest difficulties paying for health care. The share of residents reporting problems paying medical bills was quite similar in 2008 and 2009 overall and within subgroups based on age, family income, race/ethnicity, health status, disability status, or insurance status. Access for Different Population Groups: Not surprisingly, lower-income residents had lower access to care across all measures compared with higher-income residents in both 2008 and 2009. Across age groups, non-elderly adults consistently reported lower access compared with children and elderly adults. Among race/ethnicity groups, Hispanic and other, non-Hispanic residents tended to have lower access to care compared with white, non-Hispanic and black, non-Hispanic residents. The largest users of health care services, the disabled and those in fair or poor health, also experienced greater barriers to care and had more unmet need for health care in the past 12 months due to cost compared with non-disabled residents and those in better health. Although a lower share of uninsured non-elderly adults reported problems obtaining health care in the past 12 months compared with insured residents, this most likely reflects the reluctance of uninsured residents to seek care they cannot afford, as unmet need for health care because of cost in the past 12 months is much higher for this group.