Job Loss and Unmet Health Care Needs in the Economic Recession: Different Associations by Family Income

OBJECTIVES: We examined heterogeneous associations between job loss and unmet health care needs by family income level in the recent economic recession. METHODS: We conducted logistic regression analyses with the sample from the 2008 Survey of Income and Program Participation (n = 12,658). Dependent variables were 2 dichotomous measures of unmet health care needs in medical and dental services. The primary independent variables were a dummy indicator of job loss during a 2-year period and the family income-to-needs ratio. We used an interaction term between job loss and the family income-to-needs ratio to test the proposed research question. RESULTS: Job loss was significantly associated with the increased risk of unmet health care needs. The proportion with unmet needs was highest for the lowest-income unemployed, but the association between job loss and health hardship was stronger for the middle- and higher-income unemployed. CONCLUSIONS: The unemployed experience health hardship differently by income level. A comprehensive coordination of applications for unemployment and health insurance should be considered to protect the unemployed from health hardship.