Document Type
Report
Publication Date
4-2018
Abstract
Introduction: This study examines trends regarding health insurance coverage in the United States along lines of sex, race/ethnicity, place of birth, and poverty status between 2009 and 2015.
Methods: This study uses the American Community Survey PUMS (Public User Microdata Series) for the years 2009, 2011, 2013, and 2015. These datasets were downloaded from the IPUMS USA website hosted by the University of Minnesota. The variables used in the study describe these populations in terms of sex, the four major race/ethnic groups (non-Hispanic white, non-Hispanic black, Latino, and Asian), being born either within the United States or abroad, and being either above or below the poverty line. The key distinctions within concern those in the “having no health insurance” and “having at least some health insurance” categories.
Results: Across all metrics, the percentage of uninsured individuals decreased between 2009 and 2015. Some slight percentage increases in uninsured occurred between 2009 and 2011. In many cases, the greatest percentage decreases in uninsured took place between 2013 and 2015. Across all metrics, the percentage of uninsured individuals decreased between 2009 and 2015. Some slight percentage increases in uninsured occurred between 2009 and 2011. In many cases, the greatest percentage decreases in uninsured took place between 2013 and 2015.
Discussion:
While these findings indicate a largely positive trend for the first decade after the Great Recession and for the first year after enactment of the American Affordable Care Act, further study is required before the causative factors can be stated with any certainty. Readers interested in exploring the causative factors are recommended to the Conclusion of this report for a discussion of the directions in which further research should be carried.
Included in
Demography, Population, and Ecology Commons, Economics Commons, Health Policy Commons, Latin American Studies Commons, Medicine and Health Commons, Public Health Commons, Social Welfare Commons
Comments
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Citation information: Alger, Andrew S. (2018). Healthcare Coverage in the United States and New York Metropolitan Area, 2009 - 2015. New York, NY: Center for Latin American, Caribbean, and Latino Studies at the CUNY Graduate Center.