The health insurance coverage of working-age persons with physical disabilities

In this article, we examine the health insurance status of working-age, physically disabled persons, and particularly the question of whether the public sector insures a disproportionate share of the highest-risk disabled population. We use descriptive statistics to develop an insurance profile of respondents with severe physical disabilities, and multivariate procedures to model differences between privately and publicly insured, disabled persons. Results of logistic regression procedures indicate that respondents with private insurance alone are more likely to have a high functional level, a positive perception of their health, and to be married, than are those with public (or a combination of public and private) insurance. Specific type of disability, age, and wheelchair use were also found to predict the type of insurance, their effects largely mediated by employment status and income.