Associations Between Minimum Wage Policy and Access to Health Care: Evidence from the Behavioral Risk Factor Surveillance System, 1996–2007

Details

• Personal Author:
  Martin DP ; McCarrier KP ; Ralston JD ; Zimmerman FJ ; Martin DP ; McCarrier KP ; Ralston JD ; Zimmerman FJ
• Description:
  Objectives. We examined whether minimum wage policy is associated with access to medical care among low-skilled workers in the United States. Methods. We used multilevel logistic regression to analyze a data set consisting of individual-level indicators of uninsurance and unmet medical need from the Behavioral Risk Factor Surveillance System and state-level ecological controls from the US Census, Bureau of Labor Statistics, and several other sources in all 50 states and the District of Columbia between 1996 and 2007. Results. Higher state-level minimum wage rates were associated with significantly reduced odds of reporting unmet medical need after control for the ecological covariates, substate region fixed effects, and individual demographic and health characteristics (odds ratio = 0.853; 95% confidence interval = 0.750, 0.971). Minimum wage rates were not significantly associated with being uninsured. Conclusions. Higher minimum wages may be associated with a reduced likelihood of experiencing unmet medical need among low-skilled workers, and do not appear to be associated with uninsurance. These findings appear to refute the suggestion that minimum wage laws have detrimental effects on access to health care, as opponents of the policies have suggested. [Description provided by NIOSH]
• Subjects:
  Demography Economics Occupational Health Safety
• Keywords:
  Demographic Characteristics Economic Impact Health Care Policy
• ISSN:
  0090-0036
• Document Type:
  Text
• Funding:
  Grant
• Genre:
  Journal Article ; Journal Article
• Place as Subject:
  OSHA Region 10 ; Washington
• CIO:
  National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health (NIOSH) ; National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health (NIOSH)
• Topic:
  Workplace Safety & Health ; Workplace Safety & Health
• Location:
  North America ; North America
• Pages in Document:
  359-367
• Volume:
  101
• Issue:
  2
• NIOSHTIC Number:
  nn:20056933
• Citation:
  Am J Public Health 2011 Feb; 101(2):359-367
• Contact Point Address:
  Kelly McCarrier, Health Research Associates, Inc., 6505 216th St. SW, Suite 105, Mountlake Terrace, WA 98043
• Email:
  kpm25@u.washington.edu
• Federal Fiscal Year:
  2011
• Performing Organization:
  University of Washington
• Peer Reviewed:
  True
• Start Date:
  20050701
• Source Full Name:
  American Journal of Public Health
• End Date:
  20250630
• Collection(s):
  National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health
• Main Document Checksum:
  urn:sha-512:32658f558af89b4d1d3331efdeb41269c1b62e509eb5ac642ab515400dfd9a505b5ff4cc184823487a21325fe690443748574cf9c93d64c92951885dcd1c888d
• Download URL:
  https://stacks.cdc.gov/view/cdc/214425/cdc_214425_DS1.pdf
• File Type:
  [PDF - 122.37 KB ]