The Impact of Health Insurance Coverage on Medication Access in Persons with Long-Term Physical Disabilities

• In Event: Disability, Health Insurance, and Access to Care

Abstract

Individuals with disabilities often encounter barriers to accessing healthcare, including essential medications that support health management and quality of life. While previous research has shown that health insurance reduces cost-related medication nonadherence—particularly among people with disabilities, this relationship has not been specifically examined in individuals with long-term physical disabilities (LTPDs). This study investigates how health insurance coverage influences medication access among people with LTPDs, including those with spinal cord injury, multiple sclerosis, muscular dystrophy, and post-polio syndrome. Using longitudinal survey data from waves five through seven (2014–2017), we analyze responses from 1,044 participants regarding six types of financial barriers to medication access, such as skipping doses or delaying prescription fills to save money. Overall, nearly a third of participants reported experiencing at least one medication access barrier in the past year. We conducted multiple logistic regression analyses to assess the association between health insurance status and medication access, controlling for age, sex, household income, marital status, race/ethnicity, education level, residence type, and diagnoses. Results show that individuals with private or government health insurance were significantly less likely to face medication access barriers compared to those who were uninsured. The findings suggest that expanding health insurance coverage could play a key role in reducing financial barriers to medication access among individuals with LTPDs.

Author

• Samsun Naher, University of Washington
  Presenting Author