The role of health insurance in the use of health services among the non-elderly.

Ronald Andersen's behavioral model was used to develop and test predictive expectations about the role of health insurance in the use of hospital and physician services. Health insurance should be more predictive of the use of physician than hospital services and it should not be predictive of the use of health care for those in poorer health who are in greater need of care. As expected, health insurance status was a predictor of physician use and not of hospital use. However, contrary to expectation, health insurance was also a predictor of hospital and physician use for those in poorer health. The results underscore the national debate concerning the uninsured and their access to health care, particularly for those in poorer health.