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The Latest INQUIRY Journal Includes Elder Care Impact on Labor Supply, Health Insurance Coverage for Asian Americans and Latinos, Tort Law and Medical Malpractice Premiums

Posted on: Wednesday, 20 December 2006, 06:00 CST

ROCHESTER, N.Y., Dec. 20 /PRNewswire/ -- Summaries of the articles in the journal INQUIRY's recently released fall issue:

"The Impact of Elder Care on Women's Labor Supply," by Richard W. Johnson and Anthony T. Lo Sasso -- This study found that women ages 55 to 67 who, during a two-year period, helped elderly parents with personal activities, errands or chores reduced their work hours by 367 hours a year, or 41 percent, on average. The authors conclude that "providing informal care to elderly parents may be incompatible with full-time paid employment" for middle-aged women, and may hinder efforts that encourage women to delay retirement. The analysis used recent data from the Health and Retirement Study, conducted by the University of Michigan for the National Institute on Aging.

"Aging without Medicare? Evidence from New York City," by Bradford H. Gray, Roberta Scheinmann, Peri Rosenfeld, and Ruth Finkelstein -- This analysis found that 16 percent to 20 percent of New York City's aging population remains outside the social insurance system, receiving neither health coverage through Medicare nor income support through Social Security. Lack of coverage is most noticeable among certain immigrant groups. Further evidence suggests that Medicaid gradually may be replacing Medicare as the primary payer of hospital care for the city's elderly.

"Health Insurance and Access to Care among Social Security Disability Insurance Beneficiaries during the Medicare Waiting Period," by Gerald F. Riley -- Twenty-six percent of Social Security Disability Insurance (SSDI) beneficiaries reported having no health insurance during the two-year waiting period required before their entitlement for Medicare coverage, according to this study that analyzed data from the mid-1990s. The uninsured noted many more problems with access to health care than the insured. The results indicate that health coverage is particularly important during the Medicare waiting period for these people because of their low incomes, poor health and limited ties to the workforce.

"Health Insurance Coverage for Vulnerable Populations: Contrasting Asian Americans and Latinos in the United States" by Margarita Alegria, Zhun Cao, Thomas G. McGuire, Victoria D. Ojeda, Bill Sribney, Meghan Woo, and David Takeuchi -- Examining health coverage among various ethnic subgroups, this analysis reveals that Latinos in this country are much more likely to be uninsured than Asians. Mexican-Americans are at the greatest disadvantage; among Asians, Vietnamese Americans are the most likely to lack health insurance. The authors say coverage differences between the two ethnic groups may be due to the type of occupations available to Latinos and Asians, immigration law reforms, length of time in the United States, and regional variations in safety-net coverage.

"Tort Law and Medical Malpractice Insurance Premiums," by Meredith L. Kilgore, Michael A. Morrisey, and Leonard J. Nelson -- This study estimated the effect of several policy changes on malpractice premiums and concluded that caps on noneconomic damages (for example, pain and suffering) could significantly constrain the growth of premiums for internal medicine, general surgery and obstetrics/gynecology. The only other change in tort law found to lower premiums was a statute of repose -- a firm time limit for bringing a claim.

Also in the fall issue:

"Dialogue: Nonprofit Health Care Organizations and the Public Trust" -- In this article, health care leaders discuss how the nonprofit health sector fares vis-a-vis public trustworthiness.

"The View from Here: Investing in the Future of Health" -- INQUIRY Editor Katherine Swartz argues for greater public responsibility in addressing issues that may affect the country's health care spending, such as increased obesity, environmental threats and inadequate disaster planning.

INQUIRY is a peer-reviewed scholarly publication. Now in its 43rd year, it is published quarterly by Excellus Health Plan, Inc. Press releases and article abstracts are available at http://www.inquiryjournal.org/.

INQUIRY journal

CONTACT: Kevin Kane, APR, +1-585-399-6635, kevin.kane@excellus.com; orRonny Frishman, +1-585-264-9122, frishman@rochester.rr.com, both for INQUIRYjournal

Web site: http://www.inquiryjournal.org/

Source: PRNewswire

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