Low-Income Persons in 1980: Medicaid Coverage and Utilization of Services. Series B, Descriptive Report No. 14

摘要

The 1980 National Medicare Care Utilization and Expenditure Survey (NMCUES) collected data on the use of and expenditures for health care services from a randomly selected household sample panel representative of the civilian noninstitutionalized population. The panel consisted of 6,600 households (17,900 persons). Data collection was conducted from February 1980 through April 1981 and consisted of five rounds of interviewing. In addition to the use and expenditures for health care services, data were collected on the demographic and socioeconomic characteristics of household members and their health status, employment and income, and health insurance coverage. For the purposes of the analysis, family income was classified into four categories relative to the Census Bureau's 1980 standard for poverty (approximately $8,000 for a family of four): 'poor' (less than 100 percent of the poverty level), 'near poor' (100 to 150 percent of the poverty level), 'other low income' (151 to 200 percent of the poverty level), and 'nonpoor' (above 200 percent of the poverty level). Family income included welfare cash assistance.