Health Care Access and Expenditures Among Non-Elderly Adults with Multiple Chronic Conditions: Variations by Insurance Coverage Status, 2007-08 (Average Annual). MEPS Statistical Brief No. 320

摘要

Health insurance helps people get timely access to medical care and protects them against the risk of unanticipated costly medical events. Persons with a high risk of needing ongoing care, such as those with chronic illnesses that are expensive to treat, have historically had difficulty obtaining private health insurance because of issues related to availability and/or cost. The Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act (PPACA) of 2010 establishes a temporary national high risk pool program designed to provide greater access to health insurance for many of these individuals. Beginning in 2014, the PPACA prohibits denial of insurance to people with pre-existing conditions. This Statistical Brief provides baseline pre-PPACA estimates of health care access, utilization, and expenditures for uninsured high risk nonelderly adults and their counterparts with insurance coverage. High risk individuals are defined here as those with two or more chronic conditions which are defined as conditions expected to last at least one year and result in limitations of self-care, independent living, and social interactions, or the need for ongoing medical intervention. The estimates presented are based on pooled annual data for 2007-08 from the Medical Expenditure Panel Survey (MEPS) on adults ages 18-64 in the U.S. civilian noninstitutionalized population.