Receipt of Preventive Care Among Adults: Insurance Status and Usual Source of Care

Abstract

Having a usual source of care and health insurance are both important to achieving national prevention goals.

Access to Primary Care in US Counties Is Associated with Lower Obesity Rates

“…26,27 Insured people are more likely to have access to primary care. 28 Married individuals, especially men, tend to be more obese than those who are unmarried, and smokers tend to be less obese than nonsmokers. 29,30 Prior studies have shown that obese patients with a usual source of care were more likely to be attempting weight loss.…”

The Impact of Financial Barriers on Access to Care, Quality of Care and Vascular Morbidity Among Patients with Diabetes and Coronary Heart Disease

“…3 With the implementation of the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act in 2014, the numbers of uninsured and underinsured Americans will decline, but millions of Americans will still be faced with significant financial barriers to care. 4 Multiple effects of uninsurance on health care have been reported and include impaired access to preventive services, 5 failure to diagnose chronic disease, 6 poor control of chronic conditions including hypertension, diabetes and hypercholesterolemia, 6 cost-related medication underuse 7 and increased mortality. [8][9][10] However, little is known regarding the clinical consequences of financial barriers to care in the broader population of uninsured and underinsured Americans.…”

Effect of Massachusetts health insurance reform on mammography use and breast cancer stage at diagnosis

“…4,5 Women without insurance are less likely than the insured to receive preventive care, including mammograms, to seek care in a timely fashion, or to receive recommended treatment; and uninsured women are more likely to be diagnosed with breast cancers at a more advanced stage. [7][8][9][10][11][12][13][14] Despite the association between lack of or inadequate health insurance and less mammography use, few data are available about whether expansion of health insurance can improve rates of mammography use or earlier breast cancer diagnosis. A recent study indicated that the expansion of Medicaid coverage to uninsured individuals in Oregon was associated with an increase in preventive care services, including mammograms.…”