Medicaid Recipients Most Likely to Suffer from Preventable Illnesses

A survey conducted by The Gallup-Healthways Well-Being Index shows that those who rely primarily on Medicaid are far more likely to have preventable chronic illnesses than those who receive insurance from their employer, union, as part of a military or veteran's benefit package, and those who are uninsured. More than 1 in 3 recipients of Medicaid are obese compared to 27% of those who receive insurance from their employer or union. Those on Medicaid are also three times more likely to suffer from depression than those who receive their primary insurance from their union or employer, with 22% of the former suffering from depression compared to only 7% of the latter. Also concerning is the fact that 16% of Medicaid recipients suffer from asthma, compared to only 6% of those who receive insurance from an employer or union.
       Although these numbers are certainly cause for concern, it should be noted that recipients of Medicaid are usually living in poverty or are disabled, hence why they receive Medicaid. As Gallup notes, there is a strong correlation between poverty and suffering from poor health. Thus, these findings do not necessarily indicate that those on Medicaid are receiving poor quality care, but perhaps they are simply more likely to suffer from these conditions as a result of their poor socioeconomic status.

Little Progress Made in Reducing Obesity Levels

Gallup reports that despite public campaigns aimed at encouraging healthy eating habits and reducing high levels of obesity, it appears that much more work is needed to combat the current health crisis. There were small changes in obesity levels from 2011 to 2012, with obesity increasing by 0.7% from 2011 to 2012. It is estimated that as of 2012, 26.2% of Americans are obese, 36.1% are overweight, and a little more than a third were a normal weight. These results are especially troubling, since obesity rates were expected to decline given that a higher percentage of Americans claimed to exercise frequently and more believed that obesity was a paramount public health issue.

Obesity levels varied by socioeconomic status, race, region, and gender. According to Gallup's study, 20.4% of those with incomes under $36,000 identified as obese. Among those with annual incomes above $90,000, only 21.2% were obese. African Americans continue to have the highest levels of obesity, with 34.9% reporting that they are obese. This is 8% higher than obesity levels among Hispanics, and nearly 10% higher than obesity levels among whites. Obesity levels are also highest in the South, with 28.1% surveyed reporting that they are obese, followed by 27.4% among people in the Midwest, 25% in the East, and 23.2% on the West Coast. Lastly, obesity levels were higher among men, with roughly 27.3% reporting that they are obese compared to 25% of women.

Religious Americans Experience Greater Well-Being

A recent Gallup report suggests a statistically significant relationship between religiosity (measured in part by frequency of church/synagogue/mosque attendance) and the well-being of an individual. The same results were yielded even after controlling for various demographic factors, such as age, gender, and socioeconomic status. Gallup’s Well-Being index is composed of six groups, among them the Emotional Health Index and Work Environment Index. In 5 out of 6 of these indices, religious individuals scored higher than nonreligious individuals, while the Physical Health Index was the only sub-group in which nonreligious individuals outperformed their religious counterparts.