Consequences of
Lacking Health Insurance
Excerpted
from “Health Insurance is a Family Matter,”
Institute of Medicine of the National Academies
of Science, 2002
Compiled
by Cathy J. Levine
Health Insurance is a
Family Matter is the third report that the Institute of Medicine (IOM)
Committee on the Consequences of Uninsurance issued since it began its research
in 2000. “These reports represent the Committee’s efforts to review and assess
the evidence concerning a wide range of causes and effects of being uninsured…Health
Insurance is a Family Matter analyzes the effects of being uninsured can
have on the health, finances and general well-being of the family…The report
echoes the messages of the first two reports that coverage matters and that
being uninsured is bad for one’s health. Being uninsured similarly affects the
health and well-being of the family.” P. ix
I.
Consequences for the Family:
- The financial, physical, and emotional
well being of all members of the family may be in jeopardy if any
individual within the family lacks coverage. (page 10)
- The health of one family member can
affect the health and well being of other family members. In particular,
the health of parents can play an important role in the well being of
their children. (98)
- Parents in poor health may have greater
difficulty attending to their children’s health needs. (98)
- The demands on parents of caring for
sick children can be severe and place parents health at risk. (100)
- Healthier parents are better able to
care for their children and have better child rearing practices. (104)
- Parents report that having health
insurance for their children reduces stress. (104)
- Uninsured parents have poorer health,
have poorer access to the health care system, are less satisfied with the
care they receive when they gain access, and are more likely to have
negative experiences related to bill collection compared with insured
parents. (105)
- Uninsured children are less likely to
receive the routine medical attention that is considered necessary for
quality preventative care than are insured children. (142)
- Children of uninsured parents may be
less likely to get the full benefits of their own coverage than are
children whose parents are insured. (143)
II.
Consequences for Pregnant Women
- Being uninsured may affect the health
of pregnant women, the care they receive, and birth outcomes. (10)
- Uninsured women receive less prenatal
care and perinatal services than do insured women. (144)
- Uninsured women are
more likely to have poor outcomes during pregnancy and delivery than are
women with insurance. (106)
- Uninsured newborns are
more likely to have adverse outcomes, including low birth weight and
death, than are insured newborns. (106)
III. Consequences for Adults:
- Adults without coverage do not get the
care they need and are more likely to suffer poor health and premature
deaths than are adults with coverage. (10)
- Uninsured adults in poor health are
especially likely to encounter access problems in obtaining care for
themselves. (97)
IV. Financial Consequences:
- More than 15% of families with all
members uninsured for the full year experience health expenditures that
exceed 5% of their family income in a year compared with 9% of families in
which all members are either privately insured or covered by Medicaid. (142)
- Uninsured families are more likely to
face high medical bills with less income savings and other assets than are
insured families. (87)