Findings from University of South Carolina Provide New Insights into Health Insurance (Trends in amenable deaths based on township income quartiles…

Findings from University of South Carolina Provide New Insights into Health Insurance (Trends in amenable deaths based on township income quartiles in Taiwan, 1971-2008: did universal health insurance close the gap?)

By a News Reporter-Staff News Editor at China Weekly News -- A new study on Health Insurance is now available. According to news originating from Columbia, South Carolina, by VerticalNews correspondents, research stated, "Few studies have explored the association between income and mortality in Asian populations. We documented the temporal trend in amenable mortality in Taiwan based on township income quartiles between 1971 and 2008, and analyzed whether universal access to care implemented in 1995 eliminated any income-based mortality disparities."

Our news journalists obtained a quote from the research from the University of South Carolina, "Data were obtained from Taiwan's National Death Certification Registry and the National Statistics Bureau. Age-standardized mortality rates (ASMRs) were calculated, disaggregated by gender and township income quartiles. Segmented regression analyses were performed and slope indices of inequality were calculated to assess the impact of universal access on amenable mortality. ASMRs for deaths amenable to medical care fell for all income quartiles, but by greater magnitudes for the richer townships from 1971 to 2008. For virtually all deaths amenable to medical care, the richer townships had the lowest ASMRs by 2006-08. Universal access to care may have slowed the growth of ischemic heart disease for men living in the poorest townships, but its impact on aggregate amenable mortality was limited. An income gradient persisted throughout the study period."

According to the news editors, the research concluded: "Guaranteed access to medical care may have helped reduce but did not eliminate the income gradient in mortality disparities."

For more information on this research see: Trends in amenable deaths based on township income quartiles in Taiwan, 1971-2008: did universal health insurance close the gap? Journal of Public Health, 2016;38(4):E524-E536. Journal of Public Health can be contacted at: Oxford Univ Press, Great Clarendon St, Oxford OX2 6DP, England. (Oxford University Press - www.oup.com/; Journal of Public Health - jpubhealth.oxfordjournals.org)

The news correspondents report that additional information may be obtained from B.K. Chen, University of South Carolina, Arnold Sch Public Hlth, Dept. of Hlth Serv Policy & Management, Columbia, SC 29208, United States. Additional authors for this research include Y.T. Yang and C.Y. Yang.

The direct object identifier (DOI) for that additional information is: http://dx.doi.org/10.1093/pubmed/fdv156. This DOI is a link to an online electronic document that is either free or for purchase.

Keywords for this news article include: Columbia, South Carolina, United States, North and Central America, Health Insurance, Taiwan, Asia, University of South Carolina.

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