Disparities in Access to Health Insurance and Workers’ Compensation Benefit between Non-Contingent and Contingent Farm Workers in U.S. Agriculture

Authors

Abay Asfaw, CDC-NIOSHFollow

Keywords

Disparity; contingent farm workers; health insurance; workers’ compensation; Oaxaca-Blinder decomposition

Disciplines

Public Health

Abstract

The share of contingent employment has increased significantly in the last two decades. Not much is known about the impact of this shift on disparities in access to health insurance and other benefits. I examined disparities in access to any type of health insurance, employer-sponsored health insurance and workers’ compensation (WC) benefits between contingent and non-contingent workers in U.S. agriculture. I used the National Agricultural Workers Survey and the extended Oaxaca-Blinder decomposition technique to estimate disparities. Contingent employment could be a barrier to access of health insurance and WC benefit, which in turn could contribute to health inequalities in the long-run.

Recommended Citation

Asfaw, Abay (2014) "Disparities in Access to Health Insurance and Workers’ Compensation Benefit between Non-Contingent and Contingent Farm Workers in U.S. Agriculture," Journal of Health Disparities Research and Practice: Vol. 7: Iss. 3, Article 6.
Available at: https://digitalscholarship.unlv.edu/jhdrp/vol7/iss3/6