Reports Outline Insurance Findings from Department of Research and Evaluation (Health Insurance Matters: Insurance Coverage and Health Service Use Among Direct Care Workers In the United States): Insurance

2024 AUG 05 (NewsRx) -- By a News Reporter-Staff News Editor at Hospital & Nursing Home Daily -- Data detailed on Insurance have been presented. According to news reporting from New York City, New York, by NewsRx journalists, research stated, “Direct care workers (DCWs) play a central role in supporting individuals ‘ health and well-being across care settings, yet may face barriers to accessing health care themselves, particularly because of high rates of uninsurance. An observational study using pooled National Health Interview Survey (NHIS) data from 2014 to 2018.”

Financial support for this research came from Health Resources and Services Administration (HRSA) of the US Department of Health and Human Services (HHS).

The news correspondents obtained a quote from the research from the Department of Research and Evaluation, “The sample included survey respondents employed as direct care workers (DCWs), including hospital aides, home care workers, and nursing and residential care aides. We used bivariate analyses to compare differences in health insurance coverage and health service use, de fined in terms of access, utilization, and affordability, among DCWs by care setting. We then used stepwise multivariable logistic regression analyses to explore the associations between insurance coverage and health service use. The sample included 1499 DCWs. Compared with hospital aides, home care workers and nursing and residential care aides had lower insurance coverage rates, were more likely to rely on Medicaid, and reported lower health care utilization and higher cost barriers. Health insurance through Medicaid was associated with the highest odds of health care access and utilization and the lowest odds of cost barriers for DCWs.”

According to the news reporters, the research concluded: “Given the projected 9.3 million total job openings in the direct care workforce from 2021 to 2031, policy and practice interventions designed to support DCWs ‘ health are essential for ensuring continuous and quality care for older adults and people with disabilities and serious illness.”

This research has been peer-reviewed.

For more information on this research see: Health Insurance Matters: Insurance Coverage and Health Service Use Among Direct Care Workers In the United States. Journal of the American Medical Directors Association, 2024;25(8). Journal of the American Medical Directors Association can be contacted at: Elsevier Science Inc, Ste 800, 230 Park Ave, New York, NY 10169, USA. (Elsevier - www.elsevier.com; Journal of the American Medical Directors Association - http://www.journals.elsevier.com/journal-of-the-american-medical-directors-association/)

Our news journalists report that additional information may be obtained by contacting Kezia Scales, Phi, Dept. of Research and Evaluation, New York, NY 10016, United States. Additional authors for this research include Stephen Mccall and Laura M. Wagner.

The direct object identifier (DOI) for that additional information is: https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jamda.2024.105039. This DOI is a link to an online electronic document that is either free or for purchase, and can be your direct source for a journal article and its citation.

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