Print copies of this data brief are available by contacting Jason Sanford. Please include complete contact information (including organization name, mail address, zip code, and phone number), along with how many copies are needed.

Health Data Brief for June 12, 2006
Insurance Coverage for Ohio Children, Adults, and Seniors: Survey Finds Large Number of Ohioans, Especially Seniors, Lack Either Dental, Vision, Mental Health or Prescription Medication Coverage

Download Data Brief for June 12, 2006
(June 2006, pdf format, 720 KB)
Need Adobe Acrobat Reader? Download here.

Many factors affect whether or not individuals are able to get the health care services they need. Research does show, however, that having health insurance coverage is of critical importance to receiving health care services.

For this data brief, the Health Policy Institute of Ohio analyzed data from the 2004 Ohio Family Health Survey to look at health insurance coverage trends (adults and children) for four specific health care services: dental, vision, mental health, and prescription medications.

Among the findings are:

• The number of Ohioans who lack dental, vision, mental health, or prescription medication coverage is greater than the number of Ohioans who are uninsured (have no health coverage).
• Adults are more likely than children to lack coverage for these health services, with 42.7% of adults and 23.3% of children lacking dental insurance, 36.2% of adults and 25.6% of children lacking vision insurance, 20.9% of adults and 8.5% of children lacking prescription medication coverage, and 23.3% of adults lacking mental health coverage (data was not available for children). These differences between the rates of coverage for adults and children are influenced by Medicaid, which covers children at a much higher level of poverty than it does adults.
• While almost no Ohio seniors are uninsured (due to Medicare coverage), they lack other health coverages at extremely high rates, with 65.7% of seniors lacking dental insurance, 49.0% without vision coverage, and 28.8% without prescription medication coverage (although this rate should improve in the coming years with the implementation of Medicare Part D).
• Differences between the rate of being uninsured and not having coverage for these four services is greater for Whites than for Blacks and Hispanics, except for prescription medications. Blacks and Hispanics, though, have higher uninsured rates than do Whites.
• Women ages 18–64 have more coverage for dental, vision, mental health, and prescription medications than men ages 18–64; and
• Senior men have a higher rate of coverage for prescription medications (75.4%) than senior women (68.4%).