Study: Location Affects Health Care More Than Insurance
March 11, 2010 – The relative location of health services has a greater impact than health insurance status regarding people’s ability to obtain quality health care in the United States, according to a report to be published in April by the Center for Healthcare Research and Transformation.
Study results indicate low-income residents living in urban areas more readily were able to obtain health care services than all but the highest-income residents of suburban and rural areas. The study also found a significant percentage – about 17 percent – of those surveyed who have health insurance delayed obtaining necessary medical treatment due to the cost. About 40 percent of those without health insurance said they have delayed seeking medical treatment.
Survey results indicate location rather than health insurance is the primary reason people do not obtain necessary health care, according to officials for the Center for Healthcare Transformation and Research.
“Rather than a simple count of who has health insurance and who doesn’t, we wanted to get a clearer picture of the people behind the statistics,” said Marianne Udow-Philips, director of the Center for Healthcare Transformation and Research. “And we wanted to test the connection between health insurance and access to health care.”
Survey results indicate people living in small towns and rural areas have a much more difficult time accessing necessary health care due to the long distances needed to travel to the few health care facilities in the area, even when they have health insurance coverage provided through state and federal programs. But residents of larger urban centers who have no health insurance coverage typically have greater access to affordable health care clinics and other low-cost facilities located only a short distance away, according to researchers.
The study also indicates people without health insurance coverage generally consider their personal health to be on about the same level as those with health insurance coverage. Some 49 percent of those with health insurance coverage described their overall health as “excellent” or “very good.” About 47 percent of those without health insurance also described their personal health as “excellent” or “very good.”
Researchers from Michigan State University’s Institute for Public Policy and Social Research questioned 1,022 adults living in Michigan – the state with the nation’s highest unemployment rate and worst economy – in August 2009. The Center for Healthcare Research and Transformation is located on the University of Michigan campus and partners with the University of Michigan and Blue Cross and Blue Shield of Michigan to improve health care delivery.