title: The impact of demographic and perceptual variables on a young adult's decision to be covered by private health insurance.
abstract: BACKGROUND
  The large number of uninsured individuals in the United States creates negative consequences for those who are uninsured and for those who are covered by health insurance plans. Young adults between the ages of 18 and 24 are the largest uninsured population subgroup. This subgroup warrants analysis. The major aim of this study is to determine why young adults between the ages of 18 and 24 are the largest uninsured population subgroup.
  
  
  METHODS
  The present study seeks to determine why young adults between the ages of 18 and 24 are the largest population subgroup that is not covered by private health insurance. Data on perceived health status, perceived need, perceived value, socioeconomic status, gender, and race was obtained from a national sample of 1,340 young adults from the 2005 Medical Expenditure Panel Survey and examined for possible explanatory variables, as well as data on the same variables from a national sample of 1,463 from the 2008 Medical Expenditure Panel Survey.
  
  
  RESULTS
  Results of the structural equation model analysis indicate that insurance coverage in the 2005 sample was largely a function of higher socioeconomic status and being a non-minority. Perceived health status, perceived need, perceived value, and gender were not significant predictors of private health insurance coverage in the 2005 sample. However, in the 2008 sample, these indicators changed. Socioeconomic status, minority status, perceived health, perceived need, and perceived value were significant predictors of private health insurance coverage.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  The results of this study show that coverage by a private health insurance plan in the 2005 sample was largely a matter of having a higher socioeconomic status and having a non-minority status. In 2008 each of the attitudinal variables (perceived health, perceived value, and perceived need) predicted whether subjects carried private insurance. Our findings suggest that among those sampled, the young adult subgroup between the ages of 18 and 24 does not necessarily represent a unique segment of the population, with behaviors differing from the rest of the sample.
authors.affiliation: Department of Health Administration and Policy, College of Health and Human Services, George Mason University, 4400 University Drive, MS 1J3, Fairfax, 22030, , VA, USA. jcantiel@gmu.edu.
authors.forename: John
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Cantiello
authors.affiliation: Department of Healthcare Management and Informatics, College of Health and Public Affairs, University of Central Florida, 4000 Central Florida Blvd, 32816, Orlando, FL, USA. fottler@ucf.edu.
authors.forename: Myron D
authors.initials: MD
authors.lastname: Fottler
authors.affiliation: Department of Healthcare Management and Informatics, College of Health and Public Affairs, University of Central Florida, 4000 Central Florida Blvd, 32816, Orlando, FL, USA. doetjen@ucf.edu.
authors.forename: Dawn
authors.initials: D
authors.lastname: Oetjen
authors.affiliation: Department of Interprofessional Health Sciences and Health Administration, Seton Hall University, 400 South Orange Ave., 07079, South Orange, NJ, USA. ning.zhang@shu.edu.
authors.forename: Ning Jackie
authors.initials: NJ
authors.lastname: Zhang
mesh_terms: D000293:Adolescent; D000328:Adult; D003657:Decision Making; D003710:Demography; D005260:Female; D005102:Health Expenditures; D006304:Health Status; D006801:Humans; D019458:Insurance Coverage / Q000706:statistics & numerical data; D007348:Insurance, Health / Q000706:statistics & numerical data; D008297:Male; D017057:Medically Uninsured / Q000706:statistics & numerical data; D008913:Minority Groups; D017149:Private Sector; D044469:Racial Groups; D012923:Social Class; D011795:Surveys and Questionnaires; D014481:United States; D055815:Young Adult