Type of Insurance and Use of Preventive Health Services Among Older Adults in Mexico.

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Abstract

OBJECTIVE:

The main purpose of this article was to assess the differences between Seguro Popular (SP) and employer-based health insurance in the use of preventive services, including screening tests for diabetes, cholesterol, hypertension, cervical cancer, and prostate cancer among older adults at more than a decade of health care reform in Mexico.

METHOD:

Logistic regression models were used with data from the Mexican Health and Nutrition Survey, 2012.

RESULTS:

After adjusting for other factors influencing preventive service utilization, SP enrollees were more likely to use screening tests for diabetes, cholesterol, hypertension, and cervical cancer than the uninsured; however, those in employment-based and private insurances had higher odds of using preventive care for most of these services, except Pap smears.

DISCUSSION:

Despite all the evidence that suggests that SP has increased access to health insurance for the poor, inequalities in health care access and utilization still exist in Mexico.