Gender impacts on health insurance coverage: Findings for unmarried full-time employees

Probit regression is applied to a sample of fully employed unmarried respondents from the 1996 Medical Expenditure Panel Survey to determine the likelihood of private health insurance vs. no insurance coverage. Gender- related employment segregation is a strong indicator for insurance coverage, since those in male-dominated industries are more likely to have coverage. The strong impact of unions and number of plans offered on insurance coverage suggests that insurance purchasing cooperatives and managed competition may increase availability of affordable coverage, thus alleviating some of the financial barriers to health care.