The moral case for covering children (and everyone else). (41/77)

Before the crucial upcoming debate over reauthorization of the State Children's Health Insurance Program (SCHIP) and all of the 10,000 general health reform questions that this discussion will engender, we should consider one fundamental moral question, for our answer will reveal the kinds of policies we actually want to pursue: Who should be allowed to sit at our health care table of plenty? This essay sketches an answer to this question, drawing on the literature of various faith traditions as well as recent health services research. The short answer is: Everyone, but poor kids have a special place reserved for them.  (+info)

Substitution of SCHIP for private coverage: results from a 2002 evaluation in ten states. (42/77)

This paper examines the extent to which the State Children's Health Insurance Program (SCHIP) might be substituting for private health insurance coverage at the time of enrollment. Among children who were newly enrolled in SCHIP in 2002 in ten states, about 14 percent had private coverage that they could have retained as an alternative to SCHIP. Of this 14 percent, about half of parents reported that the private coverage was unaffordable compared with SCHIP. This suggests that relatively few SCHIP enrollees could have retained private coverage and that even fewer had parents who felt that the option was affordable.  (+info)

Can private companies contribute to public programs' outreach efforts? Evidence from California. (43/77)

We studied an innovative outreach effort in California, which trains and certifies community organizations to help complete Medicaid and State Children's Health Insurance Program (SCHIP) applications. In this paper we provide a detailed description of participating organizations, the populations they serve, and their success at turning submitted applications into enrollments. We found that insurance brokers and income tax preparers-for-profit groups that are not typically associated with outreach-make important contributions to Medicaid and SCHIP in California. Brokers, in particular, help serve a hard-to-reach population: those on the higher end of the income eligibility thresholds.  (+info)

Breastfeeding patterns in a community of Native Hawaiian mothers participating in WIC. (44/77)

Although Hawaii has high breastfeeding initiation rates (89%), Native Hawaiian WIC participants have much lower initiation (64%) rates. Little is known about why these disparities occur. The study's aim was to describe the breastfeeding patterns of Hawaiian/part-Hawaiian women enrolled in the WIC who had initiated breastfeeding. Retrospective descriptive data (N=200) were gathered from WIC records. Descriptive and parametric statistics with univariate and multivariate analysis of breastfeeding patterns were completed. Mothers exclusively breastfeeding at initiation weaned significantly later and were significantly more likely to breastfeed for 6 months than were mothers who partially breastfed. Practice and policy implications of these findings are discussed.  (+info)

Why millions of children eligible for Medicaid and SCHIP are uninsured: poor retention versus poor take-up. (45/77)

More than two-thirds of uninsured U.S. children are eligible for public coverage, and most current policy debate assumes that this is largely attributable to poor take-up. This paper explores the contribution of poor retention in Medicaid and the State Children's Health Insurance Program (SCHIP) to this phenomenon. The results indicate that one-third of all uninsured children in 2006 had been enrolled in Medicaid or SCHIP the previous year. Among those uninsured but eligible for public coverage in 2006, at least 42 percent had been enrolled in Medicaid or SCHIP the previous year. Both of these measures of disenrollment have increased since 2000.  (+info)

Dynamics in Medicaid and SCHIP eligibility among children in SCHIP's early years: implications for reauthorization. (46/77)

Two-thirds of children in the United States were income-eligible for Medicaid or the State Children's Health Insurance Program (SCHIP) at some point from 1996 to 2000. One in five children were income-eligible for both programs, and 73 percent of children ever eligible for SCHIP were eligible at other times for Medicaid. As SCHIP is reauthorized, Congress will need to give states the tools and financial commitment to assure that uninsured children are enrolled in and retain the coverage for which they are eligible.  (+info)

SCHIP reconsidered. (47/77)

The reauthorization of the State Children's Health Insurance Program (SCHIP) in Congress offers an opportunity to assess the legislation in light of recent developments in Medicaid and states' health coverage reform efforts. Fundamental child health goals can be achieved while still affording states additional flexibility to invest in populations of all ages.  (+info)

Children's eligibility and coverage: recent trends and a look ahead. (48/77)

We used data from the 1996-2005 Medical Expenditure Panel Survey to track changes in children's public insurance eligibility and coverage. During the 2001-2005 "postexpansion" period, eligibility was approximately constant, while public enrollment increased rapidly and uninsurance declined. Nevertheless, as of 2005, 62 percent of all uninsured children (5.5 million) continued to be eligible but not enrolled. We present detailed estimates of their characteristics by age, income, race/ethnicity, health status, and nativity/citizenship. We also examine the impact of potential changes in SCHIP income thresholds--both an expansion and a rollback--and estimate the number and characteristics of the children potentially affected.  (+info)