Found: A Way to Determine How Access to Health Insurance Affects Birth Outcomes

Study of financial barriers to prenatal care in diverse ethnic groups

By: Wood J
Publisher: Robert Wood Johnson Foundation
Published: 4/1/1997

In 1989, California became the second state in the United States to list maternal insurance data on birth certificates, thus linking self-reported insurance coverage to birth outcomes.

During 1994 and 1995, researchers at the University of California, San Francisco, School of Medicine designed and tested a survey that validated the accuracy of the insurance data on California's birth certificates.

Key Findings:

The research team concluded that despite possible underreporting in some insurance categories and a lack of quality assurance in the birth records process, California's vital statistics can be reliably used in research investigating the link between maternal insurance and prenatal care.

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