Understanding the Economic Behavior of the Medically Uninsured in the United States.

Previous research defining the health consequences of being medically uninsured show worse access, poorer health outcomes, and higher rates of premature death as compared to their insured counterparts. Adding to this literature, the present study investigated the associative role of health insurance with personal finance health behaviors. In a representative sample of the general population, our adjusted models indicated significant relationships (both positive and negative) between being uninsured and these personal finance behaviors. Therefore, future work using longitudinal data must build upon the present study to accurately determine the relative financial risk an individual takes on by being uninsured.