The 130th Annual Meeting of APHA

Abstract #44669

Sanu Somachandran¹, James N Burdine, Dr PH¹, and Michael R.J. Felix². (1) Community Health Development Program, School of Rural Public Health, Texas A&M University, 3000 Briarcrest Drive, Suite 310, Bryan, TX 77802, 979-862-4350, sanu@srph.tamu.edu, (2) Michael Felix and Associates, Walburt Ave, Allentown, PA 77802

As part of a plan to develop an insurance product for low income families, a strategy was developed to gather data in the form of opinions, preferences and perceptions from state residents, community leaders and health care providers. The strategy included community meetings at which general principles and options were presented and then discussed. In addition to recording the discussion, community meeting participants were asked to complete a brief survey instrument. Three main elements of an approach for achieving health insurance were discussed during each meeting (called the Apolicy framework@). The survey asked respondents to react to the overall proposal, its elements, and then provide information about preferences for other elements or characteristics of a potential health insurance product. Personal data about respondents (income, occupation, etc.) were also collected. Four hundred and sixty-five (465) persons completed surveys at community meetings held across the state during September-November, 2001. Respondents reported: their preferences for the policy framework overall as well as individual elements, preferences around various funding and cost control elements, specific recommendations for out of pocket expenses for various income groups, and other open-ended comments. Respondents reported selected demographic characteristics, their health insurance coverage and employment status as other data elements.

Learning Objectives: By the end of the session participants will be able to

• describe the purpose, scope, outcomes and limitations of the study;
• list 3-5 options/approaches for low income insurance products;
• describe the key findings from the survey; and
• articulate the value of such an activity as a product planning tool.

Keywords: Insurance, Access to Health Care

Presenting author's disclosure statement:
I do not have any significant financial interest/arrangement or affiliation with any organization/institution whose products or services are being discussed in this session.