Ohioans who do not qualify for Medicaid may be receiving less health care than those who do.
A new study from Case Western Reserve University’s School of Medicine found that middle to low income Ohioans who don’t qualify for Medicaid often can’t afford adequate health insurance.
The study’s senior author, Siran Koroukian, says people who cannot afford to visit the doctor may put it off – ultimately worsening their medical issues.
“People are calling themselves or considering themselves to be insured, but then there are all these out-of-pocket expenditures. So the lower your premium, the higher your out of pocket expenditures, and that’s going to really, kind of, make you think twice or three times before you use any healthcare,” Koroukian said.
The study’s authors said having health insurance is not the same thing as being able to get medical care.
And, Koroukian said, these same people might also then spend their way into Medicaid, after having to pay high out of pocket costs.
Authors of the study include Siran Koroukian, PhD, an associate professor in the department of population and quantitative health sciences at Case Western, Uriel Kim, an MD/PhD candidate at Case Western, and Johnie Rose, MD, PhD, an assistant professor in the center for community health integration in the Case Western Reserve University school of medicine.
