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Supplementary Table 3. Access to care among insured and uninsured African American, Latino, and white persons, 1997-2001

Note: This table indicates that insurance coverage affects one's access to care, especially the ability to get a regular health care provider and see a physician within the past year. Yet, uninsured Whites ironically report more unmet medical needs even though they gain greater access to care. Because of the lack of insurance, uninsured individuals go to the emergency room for medical care as indicated in this table, but for Hispanics, this tendency did not appear until the third round.

Without Health Insurance

With Health Insurance

1997

1999

2001

1997

1999

2001

Reported unmet medical needs

African American 12.2^a 14.5^b 13.7^a 5.0 4.6 5.2

Latino 11.5^a 9.4^a 9.8^a 5.5^a 5.7^a 6.1^a

White 15.0 17.0^* 18.6^# 3.9 4.4^* 4.3

Has a regular health care provider

African American 38.1^a 40.8^a 36.0^a 70.4^a 71.2^a ^b 70.8^a ^b

Latino 34.9^a 34.6^a 31.1^a 72.2^a 62.2^a ^* 66.8^a ^#

White 54.8 52.2 51.4^# 77.7 76.4^* 78.1^*

Had a doctor visit in the last 12 months

African American 53.2^b 55.9^b 47.1^* ^a ^b 79.9^b 82.4^* ^b 80.3^* ^b

Latino 38.0^a 42.5^a 35.7^* ^a 74.3^a 76.2^a 74.6^a

White 57.2 55.3 53.3^# 80.5 81.5^* 82.3^* ^#

Last doctor visit was to a specialist

African American 27.3 21.7 33.5^* ^a 25.8^b 23.6^a 23.2^a

Latino 25.8 28.4 25.2 22.5^a 24.2^a 22.8^a

White 25.5 24.8 26.6 27.7 28.0 27.7

Proportion of visits with health care providers in the emergency room

African American 12.4^b 13.3^b 12.7^* ^b 9.9^a ^b 10.1^a ^b 8.8^* ^a ^b

Latino 6.6^a 6.8^a 9.6^* ^# ^a 7.8^a 6.8 7.0^a

White 11.5 11.7 12.0 6.1 6.2 5.9

Agrees that doctor puts medical needs above all other considerations

African American 63.4 68.3^b 67.0^b 66.0^b 69.6^b 69.0^#

Latino 58.5 57.0^a 58.0^a 61.8^a 62.5^a 65.8^a ^* ^#

White 62.7 64.4 65.8 66.9 67.3 69.3^* ^#

Source: Community Tracking Study Household Surveys, 1997-2001 Bold text indicates that estimates for uninsured persons were statistically, significantly different from estimates for insured persons.

* Change from previous round is statistically significant at p<.05

# Change from 1996-97 to 2000-01 is statistically significant at p<.05

a African Americans or Latinos were different from whites in the same year

b African Americans were different from Latinos in the same year.

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