As the number of working-age adults who have major chronic conditions grew between 1997 and 2006, those without health coverage in this group experienced substantial erosion in access to health care, according to a new study by Kaiser Family Foundation researchers published on July 22 as a Health Affairs Web Exclusive.
The number of working-age adults who reported having at least one of seven major chronic conditions grew 25 percent since 1997, to a total of nearly 58 million by 2006. Besides overall growth in the adult population, the increase over the period reflects rising rates of chronic disease prevalence among nonelderly adults.
Although large differences in access to care between uninsured and insured adults with chronic conditions existed in 1997, the insurance divide grew even wider by 2006. In general, the proportions of Medicaid enrollees and privately insured people having problems getting care were similar, and both proportions were much lower than the proportion of the uninsured who experienced problems getting care, after adjusting for social and health differences among the different groups.
