Products - Data Briefs - Number 55 - January 2011: Young Adults Seeking Medical Care: Do Race and Ethnicity Matter?

NCHS Data Brief
Number 55, January 2011
Young Adults Seeking Medical Care: Do Race and Ethnicity Matter?

Barbara Bloom, M.P.A. and Robin A. Cohen, Ph.D.

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http://www.cdc.gov/nchs/data/databriefs/db55.pdf

Key findings
Data from the National Health Interview Survey: 2008–2009

* More than one-half of Hispanic young adults aged 20–29 years were uninsured in 2008–2009 compared with one-third of non-Hispanic black young adults and almost one-quarter of non-Hispanic white young adults.
* Among young adults aged 20–29 years, non-Hispanic white (66%) young adults were twice as likely as Hispanic (33%) young adults to have private health insurance coverage.
* Approximately equal percentages of Hispanic, non-Hispanic white, and non-Hispanic black young adults with private health insurance or Medicaid had a usual source of medical care.
* Uninsured non-Hispanic white (37%) and non-Hispanic black (33%) young adults were more likely to have unmet medical need than uninsured Hispanic (21%) young adults.

Health care disparities among different racial and ethnic subgroups in the United States are of national concern. Health insurance is a key factor in the access to medical care services, and young adults in the United States aged 20–29 years are more likely than adults aged 30 years and over to lack health insurance coverage (1-4). A previous report has examined the differences in health insurance and access to health care by gender among young adults aged 20–29 years (5). This report focuses on the differences in health insurance and access to health care among Hispanic, non-Hispanic white, and non-Hispanic black young adults aged 20–29 years.

Keywords: health insurance, access to medical care, National Health Interview Survey

full-text:
Products - Data Briefs - Number 55 - January 2011