Table 1.
Associations between health insurance, demographic characteristics and income level among public-sector employees in South Africa
| Insurance scheme (%) | |||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Government scheme | |||||
| Variable (n) | Insured% (n) | Newly insured | Previously insured | Other schemes | p |
| Age (years) | |||||
| 20–29 (141) | 53.9 (76) | 39.5 | 19.7 | 40.8 | <0.001 |
| 30–39 (402) | 74.4 (299) | 18.7 | 26.4 | 54.9 | |
| 40–49 (468) | 78.6 (368) | 6.3 | 31.3 | 62.5 | |
| 50–59 (268) | 76.5 (205) | 5.9 | 35.1 | 59.0 | |
| ≥60 (46) | 80.5 (37) | 2.7 | 27.0 | 70.3 | |
| Sex | |||||
| Female (778) | 78.8 (613) | 13.4 | 28.2 | 58.4 | 0.317 |
| Male (548) | 67.7 (371) | 10.8 | 31.8 | 57.4 | |
| Marital status | |||||
| Married/cohabiting (806) | 77.8 (627) | 7.3 | 30.6 | 62.1 | <0.001 |
| Div./sep./widow (149) | 77.2 (115) | 8.7 | 38.3 | 53.0 | |
| Single (375) | 65.6 (246) | 26.8 | 22.8 | 50.4 | |
| Education level | |||||
| None/prim. comp (168) | 48.8 (82) | 18.3 | 30.5 | 51.2 | <0.001 |
| Incomp. secondary (102) | 66.7 (68) | 14.7 | 33.8 | 51.5 | |
| Comp. secondary (184) | 63.0 (116) | 23.3 | 39.7 | 37.0 | |
| Diploma (360) | 79.2 (285) | 14.7 | 27.7 | 57.6 | |
| Degree (516) | 84.7 (437) | 6.4 | 27.2 | 66.4 | |
| Housing | |||||
| Formal (1272) | 75.9 (966) | 11.8 | 29.8 | 58.4 | 0.003 |
| Informal (50) | 40.0 (20) | 40.0 | 20.0 | 40.0 | |
| Race | |||||
| Black African (858) | 71.1 (610) | 16.1 | 27.9 | 56.0 | <0.001 |
| Coloured (253) | 70.7 (179) | 10.0 | 33.0 | 57.0 | |
| Indian/Asian (77) | 87.0 (67) | 6.0 | 34.3 | 59.7 | |
| White (132) | 93.9 (124) | 0.8 | 31.5 | 67.7 | |
| Salary category | |||||
| Lower skilled (168) | 42.3 (71) | 31.0 | 22.5 | 46.5 | <0.001 |
| Skilled (246) | 60.6 (149) | 27.5 | 37.6 | 34.9 | |
| Highly-skilled (709) | 81.2 (576) | 9.6 | 28.3 | 62.1 | |
| Supervisory and Senior Management (206) | 92.7 (191) | 2.1 | 29.8 | 68.1 | |
| Province | |||||
| Gauteng (344) | 70.4 (242) | 17.7 | 32.3 | 50.0 | <0.001 |
| KwaZulu-Natal (310) | 72.6 (225) | 17.3 | 24.9 | 57.8 | |
| North West (329) | 82.4 (271) | 5.9 | 29.2 | 64.9 | |
| Western Cape (343) | 72.6 (249) | 9.6 | 31.8 | 58.6 | |
| Self-assessed health status | |||||
| Excellent (320) | 71.3 (228) | 17.6 | 29.8 | 52.6 | 0.021 |
| Good (633) | 75.8 (480) | 10.2 | 31.0 | 58.8 | |
| Average (342) | 74.5 (255) | 11.0 | 25.5 | 63.5 | |
| Poor (34) | 73.5 (25) | 20.0 | 40.0 | 40.0 | |
| Individual on chronic medication | |||||
| Yes (385) | 86.7 (334) | 8.1 | 32.3 | 59.6 | 0.013 |
| No (923) | 69.5 (641) | 14.4 | 27.9 | 57.7 | |
| Total | 74.3 (988) | 12.4 | 29.5 | 58.1 | |