Differences in access to health care among the moderate-- and low--income population across urban areas.

A Publication of the UCLA Center for Health Policy Research Urban areas in the United States vary widely in the proportions of their populations that lack health insurance coverage. Because health care coverage is critical to providing access to important health services, the uninsured, and particularly those with moderate and low incomes, experience problems with obtaining medical care. This policy brief explores differences in access to health care services for the moderateand low-income, nonelderly population residing in 29 metropolitan statistical areas (MSAs), focusing on the effects of insurance status on access to services. The moderateand low-income population is defined here as those with family incomes below 250% of the federal poverty level, that is, below approximately $31,500 for a family of three in 1996. The data used in this study are from the 1995 and 1996 National Health Interview Surveys, the most recent years for which data are available for urban areas.