title: Role of race and ethnicity in private long-term care insurance ownership.
abstract: OBJECTIVE
  To determine if racial/ethnic disparities exist in the ownership of private long-term care insurance (LTCI) among current Medicare beneficiaries.
  
  
  METHODS
  This study used the 2011 wave of the National Health and Aging Trends Study. Bivariate analysis and multivariate logistic regression were employed to isolate the independent effects of race/ethnicity on LTCI uptake. Stratified multivariate analyses were used to further examine the effect of race/ethnicity on LTCI ownership.
  
  
  RESULTS
  12.3% of Blacks and 5.8% of Hispanics, compared with 20.2% of Whites (p < .001), reported having LTCI coverage. We found that Hispanics were 48% less likely to have LTCI (p = .005) compared with Whites, whereas no difference was found between Blacks and Whites. Compared with White women, Hispanic women were 81% less likely to be insured (p < .001). Ethnic disparities persisted among individuals who, based on income and assets, are considered appropriate for purchasing private LTCI coverage.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  This study demonstrates that ethnic differences exist in the ownership of LTCI among elderly Americans. Additional research is needed to determine what factors are responsible for the apparent underrepresentation of Hispanics in the LTCI market.
authors.affiliation: Department of Public Health Sciences, Division of Health Policy and Outcomes Research, University of Rochester Medical Center, Rochester, New York. Brian_McGarry@urmc.rochester.edu.
authors.forename: Brian E
authors.initials: BE
authors.lastname: McGarry
authors.affiliation: Department of Public Health Sciences, Division of Health Policy and Outcomes Research, University of Rochester Medical Center, Rochester, New York.
authors.forename: Helena
authors.initials: H
authors.lastname: Temkin-Greener
authors.affiliation: Department of Public Health Sciences, Division of Health Policy and Outcomes Research, University of Rochester Medical Center, Rochester, New York.
authors.forename: Yue
authors.initials: Y
authors.lastname: Li
mesh_terms: D001741:Black or African American / Q000706:statistics & numerical data; D000368:Aged; D000369:Aged, 80 and over; D044383:Black People / Q000706:statistics & numerical data; D005006:Ethnicity; D005260:Female; D019538:Health Care Surveys; D006297:Health Services Accessibility / Q000706:statistics & numerical data; D054625:Healthcare Disparities / Q000208:ethnology* / Q000706:statistics & numerical data*; D006630:Hispanic or Latino / Q000706:statistics & numerical data; D006801:Humans; D007348:Insurance, Health / Q000706:statistics & numerical data; D007353:Insurance, Long-Term Care / Q000706:statistics & numerical data*; D016015:Logistic Models; D006278:Medicare / Q000706:statistics & numerical data*; D008875:Middle Aged; D015999:Multivariate Analysis; D010067:Ownership; D014481:United States; D044465:White People
keywords: Access; Disparities; Health care financing; LTC insurance