MANAGED CARE March 2007. ©MediMedia USA
The patchwork of private sector and publicly funded coverage programs that passes for the United States health care system leaves as many as 1 in 5 non-elderly (ages 18–64) women uninsured, according to a report issued by the Henry J. Kaiser Family Foundation. More than 17 million women fall into that category. Uninsured women are more likely to postpone care and to forego filling needed prescriptions than insured women, and they often delay or go without important preventive care services, such as mammograms and Pap tests. Individuals with inadequate access to care can receive a lower standard of care when they do seek care, and have poorer health outcomes, according the Institute of Medicine.
Women's health coverage, 2005
Consequences of being uninsured
Source: The Henry J. Kaiser Family Foundation. Women's Health Policy Facts, February 2007.