ODDC- National Organization on Disability/Harris Survey, Healthcare, June 10, 2004

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TITLE: National Organization on Disability/Harris Survey, Healthcare, June 10, 2004 http://www.nod.org/pdffiles/harris2004/harris2004_data.pdf

Project Manager: Kristina Hanson (Katherine Cargill-Willis 9/6/04)

Introduction and Kathy’s note: "Progress is too slow, and the gaps are still too large," said National Organization on Disability President Alan A. Reich. "Looking back four years, or ten years, to our earlier N.O.D./Harris surveys, we see Americans with disabilities heading in the right direction. But people with disabilities remain pervasively disadvantaged. Our goal of full participation is a dream deferred." The new survey, conducted by research group Harris Interactive, tallied responses from more than 2,000 phone and online interviews. Margin of error is 3 percentage points. The survey, administered to both people with disabilities and those without, examines eight aspects of life. I have decided to break down the survey into seven two-page reports.

Life Satisfaction, Socializing, and Religion
Employment
Health Care
Assistive Technology
Disability Issues
Demographics
Personal Assistance

Health Concerns: When asked to rate their general health, only 6% of people with disabilities said their health was excellent, while more than three times as many people without disabilities (22%) gave the same answer; 39% of people with disabilities said their health was ‘very good’ or ‘good,’ compared to 67% of people without disabilities who fit in the same category; and only 1% of people without disabilities said their health was poor, but 23% of people with disabilities said their health was poor. When asked how concerned they were about their personal health, 46% of people with disabilities said that they were ‘extremely concerned’ or ‘very concerned,’ as opposed to 33% of people without disabilities who gave one of the same responses; 48% of people with disabilities replied that they were "concerned" or "somewhat concerned", while 55% of people without disabilities fell into the same category; and 7% of people with disabilities said they were not all concerned, compared to 12% of people without disabilities. (I realize that the "people with disabilities" column adds up to 101, but that is the data from the survey.)

Accessibility to Health Care: When asked, "How long ago was your last regular checkup?" 80% of people with disabilities said less than a year ago, 67% of people without disabilities gave the same answer; 10% of people with disabilities said more than a year but less than two years, compared to 13% of people without disabilities; 5% of people with disabilities said it had been two to four years, 10%, twice as many of people without disabilities, gave the same answer, and finally only 4% of people with disabilities had not had a regular checkup in the past four years, compared to 10% of people without disabilities.

When asked "In the past 12 months, was there a time when you needed medical care but did not get it?," 18% of people with disabilities said yes, compared to 7% of people without disabilities. Of those who responded that they needed medical help but did not get it, 39% of people with disabilities and 33% of people without disabilities pointed to cost as the reason; 21% of people with disabilities and 34% of people without disabilities said they were not covered by insurance; 7% of people with disabilities said it was too difficult to get to the doctor’s office or clinic, compared to 4% of people without disabilities; 7% of people with disabilities also said that they couldn’t get an appointment at a time convenient for them, compared to 9% of people without disabilities; 6% of people with disabilities had difficulties or disagreements with doctors, while 2% of people without disabilities gave the same response; only 1% of people with disabilities said that they couldn’t find a doctor who understands or is willing to treat their disability or health problems, while 6% of those without give the same response; and 3% of people with disabilities said they could not find a doctor who was willing to use a sign-language interpreter. When asked if they had a doctor whom you consider your regular or usual doctor, 88% of people with disabilities and 79% of those without said yes. Only 26% of people with disabilities reported difficulty finding a doctor who understood their personal health-care needs, as opposed to 10% of those without disabilities.

When asked what have they done in the past twelve because of cost, 26% of people with disabilities didn’t fill a prescription, as opposed to 11% of people without disabilities; 28% of people with disabilities and 11% of those without postponed seeking health care that they felt they needed; 23% of people with disabilities did not follow a doctor’s recommendation, compared 9% of those without; 10% of people with disabilities had gone without physical or speech therapy that they felt they needed; as opposed to 2% of those without disabilities and 9% of people with disabilities and 4% of people without disabilities had gone without mental-health services that they felt they needed.

Health Insurance: When asked how they were currently covered by any form of health insurance, 32% of people with disabilities and 62% of those without reported they had health insurance or an HMO through their work or union; 26% of people with disabilities and 33% of those without had health insurance through somebody else’s work or union; 29% of those with disabilities had insurance bought directly by themselves or another member of their family, compared 35% of those without; 47% of people with disabilities and 35% of those without had Medicare; 24% of those with disabilities and 7% of those without disabilities had Medicaid; and 18% of those with disabilities and 12% of those without disabilities had health insurance from another source.

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