Forty-one percent of adults in families earning less than 133 percent of the federal poverty level have been uninsured for one or more years, and low-income Americans in general are also less likely to receive necessary medical care and preventive tests than higher-income adults, according to a survey from The Commonwealth Fund (pdf).
Low- and moderate-income adults without insurance are more likely to visit an emergency room due to factors outside of a medical emergency. For example, 50 percent of adults aged 19-64 who were uninsured during the last year and had income less than 250 percent of the FPL used the ER because they needed a prescription drug, compared with 35 percent of insured adults with low and moderate incomes. Not having a regular physician and the high costs of other care facilities were also prevalent factors for uninsured, poor Americans who used the ER.
Additionally, uninsured adults with low and moderate incomes were significantly less likely to be up-to-date with recommended preventive tests, such as blood pressure and cholesterol checks, Pap tests, mammograms and colon cancer screenings.
"People in the bottom half of the income distribution, on average, have dramatically different healthcare experiences than those at the top," the authors wrote in the report. "The consequences of this widening gulf are strikingly evident in the health insurance system — having health insurance coverage is nearly entirely dependent on whether it is offered through a job."
Low- and moderate-income adults without insurance are more likely to visit an emergency room due to factors outside of a medical emergency. For example, 50 percent of adults aged 19-64 who were uninsured during the last year and had income less than 250 percent of the FPL used the ER because they needed a prescription drug, compared with 35 percent of insured adults with low and moderate incomes. Not having a regular physician and the high costs of other care facilities were also prevalent factors for uninsured, poor Americans who used the ER.
Additionally, uninsured adults with low and moderate incomes were significantly less likely to be up-to-date with recommended preventive tests, such as blood pressure and cholesterol checks, Pap tests, mammograms and colon cancer screenings.
"People in the bottom half of the income distribution, on average, have dramatically different healthcare experiences than those at the top," the authors wrote in the report. "The consequences of this widening gulf are strikingly evident in the health insurance system — having health insurance coverage is nearly entirely dependent on whether it is offered through a job."
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