The ABC Data Exchange
Healthcare
and Wellness
The uninsured are often one serious illness or accident away from financial crisis.
Health insurance acts as a protective factor against unexpected healthcare costs that can damage an individual’s or a family’s ability to maintain assets.
Health insurance is provided in two major forms, employer-based health insurance, predominant for adults, and Medicaid and Medicare for those age 65 and over.
The measures on this page highlight levels of employer-provided health insurance and uninsurance rates among residents in Forsyth County.
Literature Review Highlights
Even when controlling for income and education, wealth is associated with better self-rated health. [1]
Assets are associated with a reduction in family stress generally. [2]
High debt is associated with mental disorders, and the relationship between debt and mental disorder is much stronger than the relationship between income and mental disorder. However, the study does not attempt to disentangle which way causation runs: does debt cause mental disorder, do those with mental disorders rack up more debt, or is it a little of both? [3]
Literature Review References
[1] Pollack, C. E., Cubbin, C., Sania, A., Hayward, M., Vallone, D., Flaherty, B., & Braveman, P. A. (2013). Do wealth disparities contribute to health disparities within racial/ethnic groups?. J Epidemiol Community Health, 67(5), 439-445.
[2] Rothwell, D. W., & Han, C. K. (2010). Exploring the relationship between assets and family stress among low‐income families. Family Relations, 59(4), 396-407.
[3] Jenkins, R., Bhugra, D., Bebbington, P., Brugha, T., Farrell, M., Coid, J., … & Meltzer, H. (2008). Debt, income and mental disorder in the general population. Psychological medicine, 38(10), 1485-1493.
Major Findings
Employer-based health insurance was lower and uninsurance rates were higher for Black and Hispanic/Latino residents and residents with lower levels of educational attainment.
Uninsurance rates have decreased since 2011.
The state of North Carolina and Durham and Forsyth Counties had higher uninsurance rates than the United States in 2021.
Employer-Provided Health Insurance
Although the Affordable Care Act expanded access to health insurance to individuals without employer-provided insurance, the majority of Americans still receive health care coverage through their employers. Employment-provided health insurance is typically less expensive and provides more comprehensive coverage than plans purchased individually on the private market [1]. View data notes for this measure.
Data Visualization
Employer-Provided Health Insurance (Forsyth County, 2021)
Use the dropdown menu below to view data on different groups.
Key Takeaways
Overall, the rate of employer-provided health insurance remained about the same from 2009-2021.
Major disparities were present by race/ethnicity.
About 69% of White adults had employer-provided health insurance compared to 56% of Black adults and 35% of Hispanic/Latino adults in 2021.
Adults with higher educational attainment were more likely to have employer-provided health insurance.
Adults with a Bachelor’s Degree or higher had employer-provider health insurance rates of 77%-89% compared to 39% for adults with a high school diploma or less in 2021.
Data Notes
Employer-Provided Health Insurance
References
- Prosperity Now.
Data Source
- 2009-2019, 2021 American Community Survey, 1-Year Public Use Microdata Samples. U.S. Census Bureau, 2021.
Uninsured Individuals
Health insurance provides important protection for a household’s assets by reducing expenses incurred from a medical emergency or the treatment of a chronic illness that might otherwise require a family to spend down long-term savings, sell off assets, or go into debt. In addition, because health insurance coverage encourages people to seek preventive care and treatment for injuries and illnesses, it minimizes the impact a major injury or illness would otherwise have on an individual’s ability to earn income. The uninsured are often one serious illness or accident away from financial crisis.
While the Affordable Care Act (ACA) significantly reduced the uninsured rate, millions of Americans still lack coverage, including the low-income individuals who fall into the coverage gap as a result of some states’ decisions not to expand Medicaid under ACA. Further, the repeal of the ACA’s individual mandate — and Congress’ attempts to repeal the ACA outright — have sown the seeds of a rise in uninsured rates in every state [1]. View data notes for this measure.
Data Visualization
Uninsured Individuals (Forsyth County, 2021)
Use the dropdown menu below to view data on different groups.
Key Takeaways
Overall, uninsured rates decreased significantly since 2011.
The uninsurance rate peaked in 2011 at 18% compared to 11% in 2021.
All comparison communities but Guilford County had higher uninsurance rates than the United States in 2021.
Working-aged residents had the highest uninsurance rate.
Adults 18-34 and 35-64 have an uninsurance rate of 14% and 17%, respectively, compared to 4% and 1% for residents 18 and under and residents 65 and over, respectively, in 2021.
Major disparities were present by race/ethnicity.
White residents have the lowest uninsurance rate at 7%, followed by Black residents at 10%, and Hispanic/Latino residents at 28% in 2021.
Residents with low educational attainment have the highest uninsurance rates.
In 2021, about 20% of residents with a high school diploma or less were uninsured.
Data Notes
Uninsured Individuals
References
- Prosperity Now.
Data Source
- 2009-2019, 2021 American Community Survey, 1-Year Public Use Microdata Samples. U.S. Census Bureau, 2021.
About the ABC Data Exchange
Data Notes
Educational Attainment
References
- Haskins, R. (2011). Fighting poverty the American way. Anti-Poverty Programs in a Global Perspective: Lessons from Rich and Poor Countries, Social Science Research Center, Berlin, [Record of a Symposium]. June 20-21, 2011. Berlin, Germany. Retrieved from https://www.brookings.edu/wp-content/uploads/2016/06/0620_fighting_poverty_haskins.pdf
- Acs, G. (2011). Downward mobility from the middle class: Waking up from the American dream. Retrieved from http://www.pewtrusts.org/~/media/legacy/uploadedfiles/pcs_assets/2011/middleclassreportpdf.pdf?la=en
- Furchtgott-Roth, D., Jacobson, L., & Mokher, C. (2009). Strengthening community colleges’ influence on economic mobility. Retrieved from http://www.frbsf.org/economic-research/files/Jacobson.pdf
- Sharkey, P., Bryan, G. (2013). Mobility and the metropolis: How communities factor into economic mobility. Retrieved from http://www.pewtrusts.org/~/media/legacy/uploadedfiles/pcs_assets/2013/mobilityandthemetropolispdf.pdf
- Ross, C., & Wu, C. (1995). The links between education and health. American Sociological Review, 60(5), 719-745. Retrieved from http://www.jstor.org/stable/2096319
- Lochner, L. (2007). Education and crime. Retrieved from http://economics.uwo.ca/people/lochner_docs/educationpolicycrime_nov12.pdf
Data Source(s)
- 2009-2019 American Community Survey, 1-Year Public Use Microdata Samples. U.S. Census Bureau, 2020.
Welcome to the ABC Data Exchange (ABCDE), part of the Asset Building Coalition's website. This resource is made up of six interconnected web pages which, together, offer in-depth data and context on the issue of Asset Poverty in Forsyth County, North Carolina.
The landing page of the ABCDE introduces the issue of Asset Poverty, and the impact it has on individuals and families in our community. Five additional, topic-specific data deep dive pages offer a broader range of data and contextual information.
The Asset Building Coalition's purpose and goals in producing this web-based resource are to:
- Build a hub of local information on financial wellbeing and asset poverty to be used as a tool for community stakeholders.
- Educate and raise awareness locally about asset poverty, its upstream causes, and the effects it has on individuals and our community overall.
- Highlight key issues, challenges, and disparities among core measures of asset poverty to catalyze local conversations about innovative and equitable solutions.
The Asset Building Coalition has produced this content in partnership with Forsyth Futures, a registered 501(c)(3) organization that provides action-oriented data analysis and reporting services to organizations within Forsyth County. If you have questions about this content, please contact [email protected].
Some measures in the ABC Data Exchange are based on modeled estimates
Some measures contained in the Data Exchange use estimates that are not solely based on local data. These estimates use local demographic and other information to predict local estimates based on analyst modeling of state-level data. That is, estimates are calculated at a state level that is then adjusted to local demographics.
Specific measures that are based on modeled estimates are clearly labeled within the data exchange.
The Impact of COVID-19
In 2020 and 2021, the COVID-19 pandemic dramatically reshaped how our community functions and it disrupted many aspects of our day-to-day lives. Many people experienced impacts to health and safety, increased stress, and many lost some or all of their ability to earn income. These and many other impacts on our community have tested our resolve, impacted our well being, and almost certainly changed the circumstances around our financial wellbeing in ways we don’t yet understand.
All of the data contained in this web-based informational resource is pre-pandemic; for more specific information, view the data notes that are available for each measure. These measures will be updated with 2020 data in late 2021, once that data becomes available.
If you have questions about the data contained in this informational resource, please contact [email protected].