Individuals with No Healthcare Insurance Differ from Insured Respondents in Nationwide Survey of 2,800
While there were differences, the survey results show more similarities than previously thought. Insured individuals were generally at the ends of measurement values while uninsured respondents tended to be in the middle ranges with little differences between traditional policy holders and those enrolled in newer consumer directed coverage programs.
Palisades Park, NJ (PRWEB) June 7, 2006
Individuals with no insurance were at both ends of the spectrum in five key categories while those with traditional and CDH insurance tended to be in the middle of the measurement scales.
These were among the latest findings from Information Strategies, Inc.’s (ISI) nationwide survey of more than 2,800 individuals and their families found that:
While there were differences, the survey results show more similarities than previously thought with little overall differences between traditional policy holders and those enrolled in newer consumer directed coverage programs.
More specifically:
1. Respondents with no insurance tended to be healthier or have more chronic illnesses than their insured counterparts.
2. Educationally, the uninsured tend to cluster in the community college degree area while a greater number of CDH users indicated they had achieved a higher graduate degree than their traditionally-insured counterparts.
3. Age wise, the non-insured tended to be younger while respondents with traditional plans tended to be more middle-aged and CDH respondents somewhat older.
4. In terms of income, non-insured tended to have lower incomes, traditional plan holders were clustered in higher brackets along with CDH insured. However, there were a significant proportion of individuals with incomes over $100,000 who said they did not have healthcare insurance.
5. Employment ranking was evenly distributed amongst all three groupings.
In total, 1,304 traditionally insured individuals responded to the survey, with 831 CDH insured and 702 non-insured respondents. It was also bolstered by telephone follow-up interviews and some focus group analysis.
When compared side-by-side, the three groups provided interesting contrasts:
1. Non-insured respondents between 45-65 years of age were represented more significantly than traditionally insured individuals with CDH insured having the highest representation in 46-55 year-old grouping.
2. There were a significant number of uninsured with incomes above $100,000 and with owners of companies as well as senior managers.
3. In terms of health, a majority of all three groupings reported they were in excellent to good health while almost one in five (19%) of uninsured respondents said had either minor or chronic health conditions. By contrast, 28% of traditionally insured respondents said they had minor to chronic health conditions while only 7% of CDH respondents reported similar conditions.
According to JoAnn M. Laing, ISI’s President, the results indicate that while there are differences in insured and non-insured respondents, they are not as pronounced, or caused by factors often cited by critics.
“The sampling comes close to a statistically significant analysis on a national basis and it is clear that many factors drive the decision by individuals to purchase healthcare insurance and/or what types they choose,” she added.
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