Ohioans with higher incomes report better health

Since 2005, the Ohio Health Issues Poll (OHIP) has tracked health opinions and health status of adults in the state. An important indicator of well-being is adults’ overall self-rated health status.

To learn how Ohioans feel about their health status, the 2012 Ohio Health Issues Poll (OHIP) asked participants to rank their health from excellent to poor. OHIP, conducted annually, identifies what residents think about various health issues that affect communities, the state and the nation. It is funded by The Health Foundation of Greater Cincinnati.

In Ohio and in similar national surveys, adults with higher incomes report being in better health.

“With that in mind, one wonders, do healthy people make more money because they can work more days or at better jobs? Or are people who make more money healthier because they have resources to preserve and improve their health?” says Barbara Terry, vice president of community impact for United Way of Greater Cincinnati.

Jennifer Chubinski, director of community research for the Health Foundation, comments, “It is not possible to clearly answer these questions, because many factors affect both health status and income. However, since OHIP began, people with higher incomes have consistently reported better health status.”

Each year since 2005, more than 6 in 10 Ohioans living above 200 percent of the federal poverty level (FPL) reported being in “excellent” or “very good” health. This compares with between 2 in 10 and 3 in 10 Ohioans living below 100 percent FPL.

In 2012, more than 3 in 10 Ohio adults living below 100 percent FPL (36 percent) reported being in “excellent” or “very good” health, up from lows of 2 in 10 in 2008 and 2010. The 2012 rate is the highest percentage of adults in this poverty category reporting “excellent” or “very good” health in OHIP history.

By contrast, 3 in 10 Ohioans living between 100 and 200 percent FPL (34 percent) reported being in “excellent” or “very good” health. This is down from a high of more than 5 in 10 adults (54 percent) in 2006 and is the lowest percentage of adults in this poverty category reporting “excellent” or “very good” health in OHIP history.

Although the difference in health status between adults living below 100 percent FPL and those living between 100 and 200 percent FPL is not statistically significant, this is the first time in OHIP history that adults living below 100 percent FPL rate their health better than those living between 100 and 200 percent FPL.

“It is not clear why this shift has occurred,” says Chubinski, “but it is clear that adults living above 200 percent FPL consistently rate their health much higher than those living below 200 percent FPL.”

More information about Ohioans’ views on health status and other topics can be found on the survey website at https://www.healthfoundation.org/ohio-health-issues-poll.