Expanding Public Health Insurance for Children

摘要: The most significant source of health insurance for low-income children is Medicaid, a program jointly funded by the federal and state governments administered states. Over past fifteen years, Medicaid has undergone substantial changes, aimed at increasing availability public children. Prior to mid-1980s, had extremely restrictive eligibility criteria was tightly linked receipt cash assistance. Consequently, many were ineligible uninsured. Uninsured individuals are much less likely obtain care often what they do receive in relatively costly emergency room settings.1 According data from National Medical Expenditure Survey, 1987 more than half all uninsured with asthma one-third chronic ear infections did not see physician (Monheit Cunningham, 1992). Since however, there been major expansion coverage previously ineligible, break link between assistance insurance, introduction new (the State Children’s Health Insurance Program), move place greater authority programs hands These far-reaching since Medicaid’s inception 1965, affect lives number American children—according Census Bureau data, 14.5 million (approximately 20 percent children) report being covered 1999 receiving according administrative higher—18.3 1998), research shows that an even larger eligible insurance.