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According to the Bureau of Labor Statistics, the labor force is becoming
more diverse, older and more female. Today, those changing labor force
demographics are already evident in terms of the increased number of
working women.
Working women are likely to be the primary decision maker for the family
as well as the care giver when a family member falls ill. Therefore, women
need adequate knowledge and tools to satisfy their multiple roles as
decision makers and consumers of health care.
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Approximately 81% of women age 18-64
had health insurance in 2005. The remaining 19% -- which translates
into 17 million women -- had no health benefit coverage.
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Fifteen percent of women obtained
insurance from public programs, including Medicaid, Medicare, and
CHAMPUS. Seventy-one percent had private insurance.
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Private insurance was obtained
mainly through employment-based plans. Sixty-four percent of all women
had such coverage, either in their own names or as dependents, 49%
through private-sector jobs and 15% through government jobs.
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Women utilize more health care than
men, in part because of their need for reproductive services. Females
of all ages accounted for 60% of all expenses incurred at doctors’
offices in 2004.
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Women make approximately 80 percent
of health care decisions for their families and are more likely to be
the care givers when a family member falls ill.
In 2005 39% of women age 18-64, or 36 million women,
had employment-based coverage in their own name. Twenty-five million or
26% had such coverage from a private-sector job.
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