title: Income, assets, and health insurance: economic resources for meeting acute health care needs of the aged.
abstract: In this article, the authors use data from the Survey of Income and Program Participation (SIPP) to examine the relationship between economic resources and acute health care needs among the aged. The circumstances of individuals who rely on Medicare as their only form of health insurance are considered in detail because they are potentially more vulnerable when faced with health care expenses. Particular attention is given to the amount of family income and personal contingency assets held by this group and the level of out-of-pocket liability for acute care they might have been expected to face in 1984. The authors point out that their research findings would be strengthened by linkage of a more current SIPP data set to Medicare program records and the development of Medicaid eligibility simulation capability in the SIPP context.
authors.affiliation: Division of Economic Research, Office of Research and Statistics, Social Security Administration.
authors.forename: L
authors.initials: L
authors.lastname: Del Bene
authors.forename: D R
authors.initials: DR
authors.lastname: Vaughan
mesh_terms: D000208:Acute Disease; D000368:Aged; D006301:Health Services Needs and Demand; D006299:Health Services for the Aged / Q000706:statistics & numerical data; D006304:Health Status; D006801:Humans; D007182:Income; D007348:Insurance, Health; D008484:Medicaid; D006278:Medicare; D012959:Socioeconomic Factors; D014481:United States