Table 3.1: Percent of families in which a member was unable or delayed in receiving needed medical care, dental care, or prescription medications, United States, 2002

  Main Reasone
 
  Experienced Difficulty Couldn't Afford Insurance Related Other
 
Population characteristics Percent Standard Error Percent Standard Error Percent Standard Error Percent Standard Error
 
Total 20.5 0.5 48.2 1.2 15.8 0.8 47.4 1.1
 
Age in years
  18-44 22.3 0.7 53.9 1.6 14.8 1.2 42.0 1.4
  45-64 21.7 0.7 43.7 2.0 17.8 1.3 51.6 1.8
  65 and over 14.0 0.8 37.6 2.7 14.0 2.1 57.3 3.0
 
Sex
  Male 19.1 0.6 44.3 1.6 16.3 1.2 49.8 1.5
  Female 22.0 0.6 51.7 1.5 15.3 1.1 45.3 1.4
 
Educationa
  Less than High School 23.3 1.0 62.1 2.1 10.4 1.3 38.6 2.0
  High School 19.5 0.7 51.6 1.9 16.0 1.5 42.4 1.8
  Some college 20.0 0.6 39.0 1.7 18.2 1.2 55.0 1.6
 
 
Health insurance statusb
  <65, Any private 19.0 0.5 38.6 1.5 19.4 1.1 54.4 1.4
  <65, Public only 32.4 1.9 51.8 3.0 18.5 2.3 44.2 2.8
  <65, Uninsured 30.8 1.3 82.3 1.9 4.3 0.8 21.4 2.1
  65+, Medicare only 17.0 1.8 44.4 4.5 13.7 3.5 53.2 4.8
  65+, Medicare and private 11.9 0.9 31.2 3.5 11.5 2.4 63.7 3.9
  65+, Medicare and other public 17.1 1.9 -- -- -- -- -- --
  65+, Missing -- -- -- -- -- -- -- --
 
Poverty statusc
  Negative or Poor 28.2 1.3 63.5 2.1 12.7 1.7 34.7 2.2
  Near-poor 26.8 2.0 64.9 4.3 11.4 2.6 35.6 4.2
  Low income 24.2 1.2 65.5 2.5 11.9 1.5 34.5 2.8
  Middle income 19.7 0.7 49.8 2.2 17.3 1.5 45.7 2.1
  High income 16.1 0.7 23.1 1.6 19.4 1.4 67.2 1.9
 
Metropolitan statistical area (MSA)
  MSA 20.7 0.5 46.9 1.4 16.3 0.9 48.3 1.3
  Non-MSA 19.9 1.2 54.0 2.8 13.6 1.8 43.4 2.7
 
Census Region
  Northeast 16.2 1.0 38.5 3.3 16.7 2.1 53.9 2.8
  Midwest 19.8 1.1 40.2 2.1 16.2 1.9 51.1 2.0
  South 21.6 0.9 56.7 1.9 14.4 1.5 40.8 1.7
  West 23.1 1.0 48.2 2.3 16.9 1.3 50.1 2.2
 
Perceived Health Status
  Excellent 14.3 0.7 41.9 2.8 16.5 1.9 50.9 2.7
  Very Good 18.0 0.7 42.7 2.1 15.5 1.3 51.8 2.1
  Good 22.9 0.8 49.1 2.1 16.6 1.5 45.4 2.0
  Fair 28.7 1.2 59.8 2.6 14.7 1.9 38.5 2.5
  Poor 38.1 2.0 55.8 3.7 14.0 2.5 49.1 3.9
 
a Includes persons age 18 and over only. "Less than high school" refers to fewer than 12 years of education; "high school graduate", 12 years of education; and "at least some college", more than 12 years of education.
b Uninsured refers to persons uninsured during the entire year. Public and private health insurance categories refer to individuals with public or private insurance at any time during the period; individuals with both public and private insurance and those with Tricare (Armed-Forces-related coverage) are classified as having insurance.
c Poor refers to incomes below the Federal poverty line; near poor, over the poverty line through 125 percent of the poverty line; low income, over 125 percent through 200 percent of the poverty line; middle income, over 200 percent to 400 percent of the poverty line; and high income, over 400 percent of the poverty line.
d Demographic values are for reference person age 18 and over in the family. Number of families may not add to Total due to missing or rounding.
e Denominator for the main reason categories is families unable or delayed in receiving the needed care.
-- Less than 100 sample cases.
* Relative standard error equal to or greater than 30%.
 
Source: Center for Financing, Access and Cost Trends, Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality: Medical Expenditure Panel Survey, 2002.