Personal Characteristics and Spells without Health Insurance.

摘要

In this paper, we use a hazard model of spell durations to estimate the relative effects of socio-economic and demographic characteristics on the duration of a spell without health insurance. We hypothesize that a person's characteristics just before losing health insurance -- particularly monthly family income and employment status -- are related to the duration of the person's uninsured spell. Our principal findings are that monthly family income, having higher education levels, being employed in manufacturing, trade, or business and professional services sectors, continuing to work full-time after losing health insurance, and being a female have positive and statistically significant effects on the probability that an uninsured spell will end. In addition, individuals who are married or widowed/divorced/separated are more likely to regain health insurance coverage quickly than those who have never married, and race does not significantly affect the likelihood of ending an uninsured spell.