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What They Have and What They Need: Graduate Students' Health Insurance and the Factors that Predict Their Insurance Plan Satisfaction

Lenssen, Elisa

Abstract Details

2010, Master of Social Work, Ohio State University, Social Work.

Health insurance is an increasingly necessary condition for adequate healthcare in the United States. Whether having health insurance is a sufficient condition, however, remains in question. The complexities of health insurance, need, utilization and access have been frequently studied in relationship to consumer satisfaction as a measure indicating effective access to care. The research, however, fails to address graduate students. Further, graduate students’ options for health insurance vary in both cost and comprehensiveness, but little to no research has examined students’ plans or experiences. To fill the gap in knowledge and establish a framework by which to broaden the public discussion of current healthcare conditions, this thesis addresses access to healthcare in the graduate population. The three main research goals were: to explore the components and characteristics of graduate students’ health insurance, to identify any relationships between graduate students’ healthcare experiences and their evaluations of specific insurance plan characteristics, and to determine the factors that predict graduate students’ satisfaction with their health insurance plans.

The study utilized an online survey to collect primary data at one point in time from a sample of 253 graduate students at The Ohio State University. First, descriptive data was used to establish the components and characteristics of graduate student health insurance. Next, chi-square tests of relationship between healthcare experiences and evaluations of specific insurance plan characteristics were conducted. The final and central analysis conducted linear regression with hierarchical entry of variables, modifying the Andersen Behavioral Framework to predict satisfaction.

Results indicate that most graduate students have the university-sponsored student health insurance plan, have basic coverage, and pay between $50 and $250 per month in premiums. Results also indicate, however, that insurance plan knowledge is relatively low, and that satisfaction is neither very low nor very high. Further, results show a significant relationship between satisfaction and experienced barriers to medical care. Finally, results of the linear regression show that contextual factors and enabling factors significantly predict satisfaction: the more financial resources available to students, the more they are satisfied; the more knowledge students have of their insurance plan, the more satisfied they are with that plan; the more students feel they have a choice in which doctor to see, the more satisfied they are.

The importance of individual choice resonates with social work philosophies, and this study requires social workers to more actively advocate for healthcare access for the graduate students who are deprived this choice. Policy change suggestions should include: decreasing out-of-pocket health care costs for graduate students or increasing available financial resources, expanding coverage and network options so that students have more freedom and ability to choose who they see for care, and increasing education about insurance plan products, provisions and policies. Both national policy-makers and university policy-makers must be informed of students’ needs and experiences, and education can empower graduate students’ own advocacy efforts. Access to care is integral to the health of graduate students, and social workers have the potential to be skilled advocates for navigating the healthcare system.

Shantha Balaswamy, PhD (Advisor)
Cynthia Fontanella, PhD (Committee Member)
145 p.

Recommended Citations

Citations

  • Lenssen, E. (2010). What They Have and What They Need: Graduate Students' Health Insurance and the Factors that Predict Their Insurance Plan Satisfaction [Master's thesis, Ohio State University]. OhioLINK Electronic Theses and Dissertations Center. http://rave.ohiolink.edu/etdc/view?acc_num=osu1275057245

    APA Style (7th edition)

  • Lenssen, Elisa. What They Have and What They Need: Graduate Students' Health Insurance and the Factors that Predict Their Insurance Plan Satisfaction. 2010. Ohio State University, Master's thesis. OhioLINK Electronic Theses and Dissertations Center, http://rave.ohiolink.edu/etdc/view?acc_num=osu1275057245.

    MLA Style (8th edition)

  • Lenssen, Elisa. "What They Have and What They Need: Graduate Students' Health Insurance and the Factors that Predict Their Insurance Plan Satisfaction." Master's thesis, Ohio State University, 2010. http://rave.ohiolink.edu/etdc/view?acc_num=osu1275057245

    Chicago Manual of Style (17th edition)