Vrouwen verliezen vaak hun ziektekostenverzekering toen scheidden

30 November 2012 nearly 115,000 women in the US will lose their health insurance in the months after a divorce, finds a study in the Journal of health and social behavior. Almost 65,000 of these women will be not insured for the long term. Health insurance losses will be added to the financial and emotional stress, women often experienced after a divorce.

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Previous research shows that married women have better health, said study lead author Bridget Lavelle, a doctoral candidate in public policy and sociology at the University of Michigan-Ann Arbor.

"With health insurance is one of a number of factors," Lavelle added. "Married people also have higher incomes, more social support and better health behavior than non-married people, who also play a role."But the possibility that this particular source of health insurance can be an important factor in surprisingly little attention has been given in the body of research that examines why married people really healthier. "

Women often experienced pretty significant loss of economic resources after divorce, even more than their husbands--so many women get pushed below the poverty line, said Lavelle.

About a quarter of U.S. women under the age of 65 get dependent health insurance after a separation--a rate higher than for men can end.

The study used data from the survey of income and program 1,442 women in participation. Lavelle has worked with UM colleague and sociology professor Pamela j. Smock attention to this topic they felt was "off-the-radar" in academic literature and policy.

"This is a very important and pioneering study," said Deborah Carr, Ph.d. and professor of sociology at Rutgers University. "Researchers have long known that divorce has negative implications for women (and men) physical and mental health, and that women often experienced a big drop in the household results and quality of life after separation. However to date no study has documented the far-reaching and lasting consequences of divorce for women health insurance. "

Recently divorced women faced with numerous challenges, such as the care for their children, work and family, juggling and struggling to make ends meet, Carr said.

"If women are not received in a timely manner and appropriate check-ups, treatments and care, they risk even more serious health declines and their ability to perform their role as worker and parent also could suffer," she said.

Study results can be well timed. "We hope that our work will make policymakers aware that a system with de facto link between marital status and health insurance and will have unintended adverse consequences," said Lavelle.

"Impoverished divorced women whose very low incomes qualify them for Medicaid come maybe some access to health care, but lower middle class women with a modest income not eligible for Medicaid benefits, despite their precarious financial statuses," concluded Carr. "The physical and emotional consequences for their long-term health are potentially dire."

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