Unmarried Women Just Below Medicare Age are Twice As
Likely to Lack Health Insurance
These women between 50 and 64 are more prone than
younger women to a wide range of health conditions
Feb. 24, 2010 Older women basically Baby
Boomers that have not reached the magical Medicare age of 65 - who are
divorced, separated, widowed or never married have twice the uninsured
rate of their married peers, according to a new policy brief from the
UCLA Center for Health Policy Research.
Lawmakers face balancing act - limit insurers to a small difference in premiums between older and younger people and younger ones likely
to pay far more than now; allow larger spread, and boomers may be priced
out of coverage. Seniors on Medicare not affected.
The study, "Health and Health Care Access Among
California Women Ages 5064," examines a range of health issues and
trends among California's approximately 3 million older women, an age
group that often faces new and accelerated chronic health conditions,
according to lead author Roberta Wyn, associate director of the center.
"It's a time of critical change for older women,"
Wyn said. "Not only are they at risk of new and complex health
conditions, but as they near the age of retirement, their insurance
status may change too."
Women between the ages of 50 and 64 are more prone
than younger women to a wide range of health conditions, including
asthma, diabetes and heart disease. Nearly four in 10 women in this age
group will be diagnosed with high blood pressure, while nearly six in 10
are either obese or overweight. In both cases, the percentages are
higher than for younger women.
The researchers also found that the likelihood of
having health insurance was related to a woman's marital status. Using
data from the 2007 California Health Interview Survey, Wyn and her
co-author found that one-quarter of older women who had never married
and 21 percent of divorced, separated or widowed women were uninsured
more than twice the rates of married women.
"These women have fewer coverage options, including
access to family coverage, and Medicare is still several years away for
many," Wyn said.
Among all women, low-income women are the most
likely to be uninsured (34 percent) and the least likely to have
employment-based coverage (24 percent), according to the policy brief.
Lack of insurance can result in a delay in
accessing needed care. One-third (32 percent) of uninsured women aged
50 to 64 reported that they delayed or did not get needed medical care
in the past year, a rate twice as high as that for women with
employment-based coverage in this age group.
Uninsured women between 50 and 64 were also much
more likely to report not having had a Pap test during the previous
three years than women with employment-based coverage (28 percent vs. 5
percent) and were more likely to report not having had a mammogram
during the previous two years (39 percent vs. 10 percent).
The data was collected in 2007, before the
recession, and Wyn noted that "the economic recession and subsequent
widespread job loss may have pushed uninsurance rates (for Pap test)
even higher."
Wyn stressed the need for expanded health insurance
coverage and access to care to address the rising health issues and
often costly health conditions associated with aging.
The study authors also stressed the need for
proactive policies and programs that promote healthy behaviors and
environments to help stem the rising rates of obesity in this age
group.
The UCLA Center for Health Policy Research is one of the nation's
leading health policy research centers and the premier source of
health-related information on Californians.
Original report by by Gwendolyn Driscoll, February
24, 2010 -
Health Sciences
Keep up with the latest news for senior citizens, baby
boomers
Feb. 24, 2010 Older women basically Baby
Boomers that have not reached the magical Medicare age of 65 - who are
divorced, separated, widowed or never married have twice the uninsured
rate of their married peers, according to a new policy brief from the
UCLA Center for Health Policy Research.
