The effect of employment status on private health insurance coverage: 1977 and 1987.
Analyzing cross-sectional data from the National Medical Expenditure Survey (NMES), we find that the predicted probability of private insurance coverage for low-income individuals as a group fell dramatically from 1977 to 1987. The results of a decompositional technique show that the relationship between full-time employment and private insurance has weakened over the period for low-income females, but has strengthened for males in this group. While it appears that low-income females benefit from part-time employment relative to their unemployed cohorts, no discernible difference is found in the likelihood of being covered by private insurance for part-time and unemployed males. Finally, evidence suggesting a weakening over time in the relationship between part-time employment and private insurance coverage is found among middle-income females and high-income males. From a policy perspective, passage of the Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act of 1996 has taken an important first step in attempting to lower the number of uninsured, especially among full-time workers. Our findings, however, suggest that this legislation may be too limited in scope to effectively reach part-time workers presently uninsured.
Rhine
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SL
Federal Reserve Bank of Chicago, USA.
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D000293:Adolescent; D000328:Adult; D003430:Cross-Sectional Studies; D004651:Employment / Q000706:statistics & numerical data*; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D007182:Income; D019458:Insurance Coverage / Q000191:economics* / Q000706:statistics & numerical data; D007348:Insurance, Health / Q000191:economics* / Q000331:legislation & jurisprudence / Q000706:statistics & numerical data; D016015:Logistic Models; D008297:Male; D017057:Medically Uninsured / Q000706:statistics & numerical data*; D008875:Middle Aged; D018803:Models, Economic; D012959:Socioeconomic Factors; D014481:United States