Miles, Steven, and Kara Parker. Men, Women, and Health Insurance. During the first Clinton administration, attempts were made to change the way in which health insurance was made available in the marketplace. The current efforts to broaden health coverage include an effort to increase the number of children with health insurance. Less attention has been paid to the specific health insurance needs of women.
Figures indicate that fewer women than men are uninsured.
Women make up 72 percent of the poor, elderly population and account for two to six times more nursing facility days than men. Older women are four times as likely to use Medicaid for nursing home care. These women have fewer pensions and personal resources and have more chronic illnesses and more days of disability than men. The authors of this article assert that it is important to keep these sex-based health and financial differences in mind when evaluating health policy and implementing future policy with regard to Medicare and Medicaid reforms. Musson, Nancy D, George D. Frye, and Mary Nash.