The objective of this research is to describe how welfare policy in the United States may affect health with respect to barriers in accessing care for employed women living below 150 percent poverty level and those who were receiving public assistance in 1996. Both employed, low-income women and women receiving public assistance may be receiving Medicaid, but barriers in accessing care may be different, especially when related to employment. The three specific aims of this study are: 1) to describe differences in low-income women with respect to employment or AFDC receipt on health insurance coverage, income, health status, health care utilization patterns, barriers to care, and satisfaction with health care received, 2) to determine whether families headed by low-income employed women with Medicaid coverage experience greater barriers to a usual source of health care related to employment factors or lack of time than do families headed by women who are unemployed and covered by Medicaid, and, 3) to determine whether barriers to health care related to employment and/or child care in low-income employed women are associated with less preventive care, higher emergency department utilization rates, higher rates of hospital admissions, and lower perceived health status when compared to low-income unemployed women receiving AFDC. Secondary analyses of the Medical Expenditure Panel Survey (MEPS) data through the Agency for Health Care Policy and Research (AHCPR) will be used to meet the goals of this research. Descriptive statistics will be applied to the data to examine relationships between the employment, welfare use, and health outcome variables. Parametric and nonparametric tests of significance will be used when appropriate to determine whether population inferences can be made.
