Table 3.
Association of Race/Ethnicity, Income, and Health Insurance with Medical Debt Among Women with a Live Birth Within the Last Year, 2019–2020 (n = 645)
| Problems paying medical bills | Unable to pay medical bills | |||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| % | Unadjusted OR | Adjusted OR* | % | Unadjusted OR | Adjusted OR* | |
| Race/ethnicity | ||||||
| Hispanic (n = 140) | 23.4 | 1.41 (0.79, 2.52) | 1.33 (0.67, 2.67) | 18.0 | 1.80 (0.93, 3.45) | 1.44 (0.61, 3.41) |
| White (n = 369) | 17.8 | Reference | Reference | 10.9 | Reference | Reference |
| Black (n = 77) | 28.4 | 1.83 (0.96, 3.49) | 1.69 (0.71, 4.04) | 17.7 | 1.75 (0.86, 3.56) | 1.15 (0.41, 3.19) |
| Other (n = 59) | 5.9 | 0.29 (0.06, 1.33) | 0.30 (0.10, 0.95) | 5.9 | 0.51 (0.11, 2.38) | 0.57 (0.18, 1.78) |
| Family income | ||||||
| $0 to $34,999 (n = 176) | 28.0 | 3.73 (1.96, 7.10) | 1.84 (0.63, 5.36) | 24.2 | 27.29 (8.00, 93.10) | 13.43 (3.09, 58.28) |
| $35,000 to $49,999 (n = 75) | 11.1 | 1.19 (0.49, 2.90) | 0.64 (0.19, 2.19) | 6.7 | 6.12 (1.41, 26.51) | 3.37 (0.63, 18.00) |
| $50,000 to $74,999 (n = 94) | 26.9 | 3.52 (1.60, 7.74) | 2.76 (1.12, 6.80) | 18.5 | 19.42 (5.14, 73.37) | 15.98 (3.79, 67.42) |
| $75,000 to $99,999 (n = 82) | 23.4 | 2.93 (1.22, 7.03) | 2.44 (1.00, 5.97) | 14.8 | 14.87 (3.65, 60.58) | 13.47 (3.08, 58.82) |
| $100,000 or greater (n = 218) | 9.4 | Reference | Reference | 1.2 | Reference | Reference |
| Health insurance | ||||||
| Private (n = 377) | 17.5 | Reference | 8.8 | Reference | Reference | |
| Medicaid and other public (n = 156) | 19.6 | 1.15 (0.66, 2.01) | 0.73 (0.31, 1.70) | 15.0 | 1.83 (0.98, 3.44) | 0.90 (0.36, 2.25) |
| Other coverage (n = 33) | 8.2 | 0.42 (0.12, 1.53) | 0.45 (0.11, 1.81) | 8.2 | 0.93 (0.25, 3.46) | 1.01 (0.25, 4.11) |
| Uninsured (n = 79) | 30.0 | 2.02 (1.01, 4.03) | 1.40 (0.52, 3.80) | 26.0 | 3.64 (1.82, 7.28) | 1.93 (0.68, 5.45) |
*Adjusted for age (ages 18–24; 25–34; 35–49), region (Northeast, Midwest, South, West), self-reported health status (fair/poor health), education (< HS, HS/GED, some college, BA, > BA), family income ($0 to $34,999; $35,000 to $49,999; $50,000 to $74,999; $75,000 to $99,999; $100,000 or greater); marital status (married; unmarried); race/ethnicity (Hispanic, non-Hispanic White, non-Hispanic Black, non-Hispanic other); health insurance (private; Medicaid and other public; other coverage; uninsured); gestational diabetes (yes/no); asthma (yes/no); and hypertension (yes/no). Number analyzed after exclusion of those with missing data for covariates: n = 634 in adjusted analyses
Statistically significant odds ratios are bolded