Health insurance status of adolescents in the United States

The lack of adequate health insurance is known to have a negative impact upon adult populations. In general, people who do not have health insurance coverage use medical services less often and have increased rates of illness and death. Until now, no studies of health insurance coverage of adolescents in the United States have been done. This study provides an overview of the insurance status of adolescents aged 10 to 18. The number of uninsured individuals was determined, and the effect on the utilization of health care services was assessed. The data were gathered in 1984 and included 15,181 adolescents. Although 86 percent of the adolescents surveyed had some type of insurance coverage, one in every seven, or almost 4.5 million individuals, had no health insurance. Characteristics that were associated with the likelihood of not having insurance included: poor economic conditions, little formal education, and being a member of a minority group. Also, individuals living in the southern or western United States and in single-parent households were less likely to be insured. Adolescents from families with low incomes and single-parent homes were the most likely to be uninsured. Economic factors were found to be the most influential; in 8 of 10 families that had no insurance coverage, economic obstacles were most frequently cited as the reason. Measures that could undertaken by the public and private sectors to improve the insurance coverage of adolescents are also discussed. (Consumer Summary produced by Reliance Medical Information, Inc.)