(June 10, 2010 - Insidermedicine)

Uninsured Americans and those who rely on Medicaid may not fare as well in hospitals as individuals with private health insurance, according to research published in the Journal of Hospital Medicine.

Here are somefactors to consider when buying health insurance:

•    Does it limit which doctors you can see?

•    Does it restrict your access to medical specialists?

•    Does it cover pre-existing conditions?

Researchers from Harvard Medical School and Brigham and Women’s Hospital analyzed over 150,000 discharge records from U.S. hospitals for patients who were admitted for a heart attack, stroke, or pneumonia. The investigators looked at whether patients’ insurance status affected their hospital survival rate.

Compared with the privately insured, uninsured and Medicaid patients were generally younger, less likely to be white, more likely to have a lower income, and more likely to be admitted through the emergency department. Hospital death rates were 52% higher among uninsured heart attack patients and 49% higher among uninsured stroke patients, compared with the privately insured. In addition, Medicaid patients with pneumonia had a 21% higher death rate than insured patients with the same condition. Hospital stays were generally longer for Medicaid patients, and the costs of care for stroke and pneumonia were higher. These differences remained even after taking into account baseline health, socioeconomic status, and disease severity.

Today’s research demonstrates how insurance status can affect health outcomes.