Access to ambulatory care among noninstitutionalized, activity-limited persons 65 and over

This study examined the impact of income and insurance type on ambulatory care contact use by persons 65 and over who expressed a limitation in their activity. This large group (39% of noninstitutionalized older persons in 1984) had significantly more health problems and ambulatory care contacts than persons not activity-limited. The only previous study on equity in use of physician services among elderly in poorer than average health found relatively little inequality of use due to income and insurance. This study came to the opposite conclusion. Activity-limited persons without Medicare private supplementary insurance, as well as those with supplementary insurance in the bottom and middle of the income distribution, had 15-32% fewer ambulatory care contacts than activity-limited persons with higher income and private supplementary insurance. Particularly striking were the declines in consumption among middle income persons relative to the reference group, indicating that the issue of equity in consumption of health services among older disabled persons affects a much broader group than only the poor and near-poor.