Marital status is associated with health insurance coverage for working-age women at all income levels, 2007

Abstract

Overall, unmarried (divorced • or never married) women aged 25–64 years are more likely to be uninsured (21%) than married women (13%) in the same age group. Poor married women are • more likely to be uninsured than poor unmarried women, in part because they are less likely to have Medicaid coverage. Married women are more likely • to have private insurance, and less likely to have Medicaid, than unmarried women. The probability of an offer • of health insurance through an employer increases with family income for both married and unmarried women. Marriage affects health insurance coverage. As marriage rates in the United States decline (1), fewer women will have the opportunity to obtain health insurance coverage through their spouse. Marriage can also increase family income and may make health insurance more affordable. Because poor and low-income unmarried women are more likely to be eligible for Medicaid than their married counterparts, changes in Medicaid eligibility may also affect coverage rates disproportionately for poor and low-income unmarried women.