Uninsured Children: How We Count Matters

Author:

Tang Suk-fong S.1,Olson Lynn M.1,Yudkowsky Beth K.1

Affiliation:

1. Department of Practice and Research, American Academy of Pediatrics, Elk Grove Village, Illinois

Abstract

Background. Because children uninsured for less than a full year are often reported as insured, they receive less attention in health policy debates than do the full-year uninsured and are underrecognized as potential users of public insurance programs. Objective. The purpose of this study is to assess the impact on estimates of how many US children are uninsured when alternatives to the full-year uninsured definition are used. Methods. Monthly health insurance coverage data collected from children through age 18 in the 1999 Medical Expenditure Panel Survey were analyzed to estimate prevalence of health insurance gaps among children in terms of the size of part-year and full-year uninsured child population, duration of uninsured gaps, and aggregate uninsured spells. Results. Although 6.6 million ([M] 8.4%) children in the United States were uninsured throughout 1999, an additional 11.4M (14.4%) were uninsured for part of the year. Part-year uninsured gaps accounted for 41.7% of a total of 130M months of missing coverage experienced by all children. Conclusions. Different definitions and measures of who are uninsured can project radically different pictures of the magnitude of the problem. As this study shows, including the part-year uninsured more than doubled the estimated uninsured child population for 1999, and increased the estimated aggregate uninsured months by 71%. As potential users of public coverage, children who have no insurance for part of the year should be included when evaluating challenges to and accomplishments by the State Children’s Health Insurance Program and other public programs. Their significant numbers and the potential burden they place on the health care delivery system argue for them to be counted and for the causes and consequences of short-term uninsured spells to be better understood.

Publisher

American Academy of Pediatrics (AAP)

Subject

Pediatrics, Perinatology, and Child Health

Reference36 articles.

1. Czajka JL. Analysis of Children’s Health Insurance Patterns: Findings From the SIPP. Washington, DC: Mathematica Policy Research, Inc; 1999. Available at: http://aspe.hhs.gov/health/reports/Sippchip/toc.htm#CONTENTS. Accessed July 6, 2002

2. State Children’s Health Insurance Program; Final Allotment to States, Commonwealths and Territories for Fiscal Years 1998 and 1999. HCFA Notice [HCFA 2064 N] Federal Register Vol 65, No 101. Available at: http://www.cms.gov/schip/9899chip.pdf. Accessed August 6, 2002

3. A Survey of Surveys: What Does It Take to Obtain Accurate Estimates of the Uninsured? State Coverage Initiatives, Issue Number 1. The Robert Wood Johnson Foundation, March 2000. Available at: http://www.statecoverage.net/pdf/scinews0300.pdf. Accessed August 6, 2002

4. Children’s Health Insurance, Inspector General Reviews Should Be Expanded to Further Inform the Congress. United States General Accounting Office Report to Congressional Committees. March 2002. Available at: http://www.gao.gov/new.items/d02512.pdf. Accessed on May 29, 2002

5. Covering Kids Back-to-School Kick-off News Conference. Washington, DC: Robert Wood Johnson Foundation; 2002. Available at: http://www.kaisernetwork.org/health_cast/hcast_index.cfm?display=detail&hc=646. Accessed August 6, 2002

Cited by 20 articles. 订阅此论文施引文献 订阅此论文施引文献,注册后可以免费订阅5篇论文的施引文献,订阅后可以查看论文全部施引文献

同舟云学术

1.学者识别学者识别

2.学术分析学术分析

3.人才评估人才评估

"同舟云学术"是以全球学者为主线,采集、加工和组织学术论文而形成的新型学术文献查询和分析系统,可以对全球学者进行文献检索和人才价值评估。用户可以通过关注某些学科领域的顶尖人物而持续追踪该领域的学科进展和研究前沿。经过近期的数据扩容,当前同舟云学术共收录了国内外主流学术期刊6万余种,收集的期刊论文及会议论文总量共计约1.5亿篇,并以每天添加12000余篇中外论文的速度递增。我们也可以为用户提供个性化、定制化的学者数据。欢迎来电咨询!咨询电话:010-8811{复制后删除}0370

www.globalauthorid.com

TOP

Copyright © 2019-2024 北京同舟云网络信息技术有限公司
京公网安备11010802033243号  京ICP备18003416号-3