Children’s Health Coverage
Children are more likely to maintain enrollment in public health insurance programs if a parent or sibling also is enrolled, according to a study in the Journal of Health Economics.
For the study, data were taken from the 1999-2004 Current Population Survey March Supplement on individual and household insurance coverage, demographics, self-reported health status, income and state of residence.
The authors found that several factors influenced the probability of children maintaining public health insurance coverage. According to the study:
- Healthier children are less likely to maintain coverage;
- Older children are less likely to remain enrolled;
- Children in households with higher family incomes are less likely to maintain enrollment; and
- Children in urban areas are more likely to drop out of public health insurance programs.
The study recommends that enrollment efforts should concentrate on families rather than individuals (Sommers, Journal of Health Economics, November 2006). This is part of the California Healthline Daily Edition, a summary of health policy coverage from major news organizations. Sign up for an email subscription.