Racial/ethnic differences in the healthcare experience (coverage, utilization, and satisfaction) of US adults with diabetes

Objective: To examine racial/ethnic difference in healthcare coverage, utilization, and satisfaction, among US adults with diabetes. Design and Setting: We conducted a cross-sectional analysis among 9443 adults with diabetes who participated in the 1999 Behavioral Risk Factor Surveillance System (BRFSS), a telephone survey of the civilian non-institutionalized US population aged ≥18 yrs. Main Outcome Measures: We compared healthcare coverage, utilization, and satisfaction across 4 race/ethnicity categories: non-Hispanic Whites (NHW), non-Hispanic Blacks (NHB), Hispanics (HSP), and others, and examined whether these factors were associated with self-rated health status. Results: By self-report, more NHB (14.8%), HSP (20.7%), and members of other races (21.8%) were uninsured, compared to NHW (6.4%). Similarly, cost was a barrier to visiting a doctor for 23.9% of HSP, 19.5% of NHB, and 13.4% of members of other races; however, only 8.2% of non-Hispanic Whites reported cost as a barrier. More NHW (90.1%) and NHB (90.7) reported having had a check-up in the past year, compared to HSP (84.5%) or others (84.1%). All 3 variables exhibited significant differences by race or ethnicity (all P