More Monitoring Needed to Evaluate How CHIP Meets Children's Health Needs
From 1997 to 2000, researchers affiliated with the Maternal & Child Health Policy Research Center studied the role of insurance in determining children's access to primary care. The research team also examined employer-sponsored private health insurance for children, and analyzed the federal State Children's Health Insurance Program (CHIP).
Research efforts included a survey of 450 employers and telephone interviews with 46 state health officials.
The center, based in Washington, is a nonprofit, nonpartisan organization specializing in health policy research and education.
Key Findings
- Insured children have better access to care, and those with private insurance have better access than those on Medicaid.
- Most employers believe covering their employees' children is "the right thing to do."
- One in five employees elects not to take employer coverage for their children, and half select a "minimum" basic benefits package.
- CHIP grants states wide latitude in deciding which children to cover and how to structure benefits and cost-sharing arrangements.
- One in six children eligible for CHIP coverage has special health care needs, and states generally have not structured their programs to meet these needs.
- The investigators recommended an integrated monitoring program to evaluate how CHIP and Medicaid meet the health needs of children in low-income families.
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Related
- The Impact of CHIP on Children's Insurance Coverage December 1, 2009
- Health Insurance Coverage of Young Adults June 1, 2008
- About this grant