The uninsured have poorer access to care and obtain care at greater acuity than those with health insurance; however, the differential impact of being uninsured in rural versus urban areas is largely unknown. Using data from the 2002-2007 Medical Expenditure Panel Survey, we examine whether uninsured rural residents have different patterns of health care use than their urban counterparts, and t...

Many major teaching hospitals might not be able to offer adequate access to specialty care for uninsured patients. This study found that medical school faculty were more likely to have difficulty obtaining specialty services for uninsured than for privately insured patients. These gaps in access were similar in magnitude for public and private institutions. Initial treatment of uninsured patien...

This paper investigates the difference in the health conditions and the health care consumption of uninsured individuals as compared to individuals with private insurance, using a nationally representative data set of inpatient hospital admissions from the US. In line with the previous literature, our results indicate that uninsured individuals are, on average, in worse health conditions. Howev...

BACKGROUND Recent events have increased the instability of health insurance coverage. We compared emergency department (ED) use by newly insured vs continuously insured adults and by newly uninsured vs continuously uninsured adults. METHODS We analyzed 159,934 adult respondents to the 2004 through 2009 National Health Interview Survey. Health insurance status was categorized as newly insured ...

BACKGROUND Of the 4.8 million uninsured children in America, 62-72% are eligible for but not enrolled in Medicaid or CHIP. Not enough is known, however, about the impact of health insurance on outcomes and costs for previously uninsured children, which has never been examined prospectively. METHODS This prospective observational study of uninsured Medicaid/CHIP-eligible minority children comp...

OBJECTIVE Nearly 14% of children in the United States are uninsured. We compared the prevalence of psychosocial problems and mental health services received by insured and uninsured children in primary care practices. METHODS The Child Behavior Study was a cohort study conducted by Pediatric Research in Office Settings and the Ambulatory Sentinel Practice Network. Four hundred one primary car...

BACKGROUND Adults in late middle age who lack health insurance are more likely to die or experience a decline in their overall health. Because most estimates of the uninsured are cross-sectional, the true number of individuals whose health is at risk from being uninsured is unclear. METHODS We analyzed a nationally representative sample of 6065 US adults 51 to 57 years old who were interviewe...

Objective. Nearly 14% of children in the United States are uninsured. We compared the prevalence of psychosocial problems and mental health services received by insured and uninsured children in primary care practices. Methods. The Child Behavior Study was a cohort study conducted by Pediatric Research in Office Settings and the Ambulatory Sentinel Practice Network. Four hundred one primary car...

OBJECTIVE To determine demographic and diagnostic information about the medically uninsured patient population and compare it with that of the medically insured patient population at a primary care centre. DESIGN Medical chart audit. SETTING Department of Family and Community Medicine at St Michael's Hospital in Toronto, Ont. PARTICIPANTS Medically uninsured patients who were treated in t...

OBJECTIVE Despite concerted policy efforts, a sizeable percentage of children lack health insurance coverage. This article examines the impact of the health care safety net and health care market structure on the use of health care by uninsured children. METHODS We used the Medical Expenditure Panel Survey linked with data from multiple sources to analyze health care utilization among uninsur...