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APHA Scientific Session and Event Listing

Recorded presentation

Melissa Kolb McCormick, MA, Gail R. Bellamy, PhD, and Sally K. Richardson. Institute for Health Policy Research, West Virginia University, 3110 MacCorkle Avenue SE, Charleston, WV 25304, 304-347-1360, mmccormick@hsc.wvu.edu

Introduction: The ranks of America's uninsured continue to grow, as businesses downsize and outsource, and as the costs of health insurance escalate. In a report published in 2005, the Kaiser Family Foundation reported on the results of a national survey of women, Access to Insurance Impacts Women's Health in 2005. This report highlighted how health coverage differed among women of different ages, race/ethnicity, income and from men. How does access to insurance impact women living in West Virginia, a small, rural Appalachian state, compare to the nation? This presentation will share the findings from the 2003 West Virginia Health Care Survey focusing on women, how these results compare to those of women nationally based on the results from the Kaiser survey, and how they compare to uninsured males in state.

Methodology: The West Virginia University Institute for Health Policy Research conducted a telephone survey with a random sample of 1600 households in 2003 to assess the nature of insurance coverage, the prevalence of uninsurance in the state, and impact of insurance or its absence on health care. A telephone survey of 1600 households was conducted. Over 800 women, ages 18 to 64 were represented among survey respondents.

Analysis: WV data was analyzed using SPSS Version 11. Descriptive statistics and chi-squares were employed.

Select Results from WV 2003 Survey: 22.7% of WV female survey respondents were uninsured compared to 14% reported in the Kaiser Report. In contrast to the national Kaiser results, in West Virginia the percent of uninsured women was greater than that of uninsured men (22.7% versus 20.9%). 38 percent of WV uninsured female respondents were employed compared to 28% in the Kaiser Report. 20.6 percent of WV uninsured female respondents had not completed high school compared to 29% in the Kaiser Report. 55.3 percent of WV uninsured female respondents had completed high school compared to 37% in the Kaiser Report. Over 30% of WV uninsured female respondents had been uninsured over 5 years compared to 20 percent that had been uninsured over 4 years in the Kaiser Report. An additional 9.3 percent of West Virginia's uninsured female respondents had never had insurance. 33 percent of WV uninsured female respondents rated their health status as fair, poor, very poor compared to 22 percent in the Kaiser Report.

Conclusions: Uninsured women in West Virginia differ in some significant ways from their national counterparts.

Learning Objectives: After attending this session, participants will be able to

• Describe how uninsured women in one state differ from women nationally.
• Discuss the relevance for policy-making of looking at special populations nationally and at the state level.

Keywords: Health Insurance, Women

Related Web page: www.kff.org/womenshealth/whp070705pkg.cfm

Presenting author's disclosure statement:

Any relevant financial relationships? No

Recorded presentation