Summary
Efforts to decrease the number of uninsured children in America often focus on increasing enrollment in Medicaid and the Children's Health Insurance Program (CHIP). With over six million uninsured children eligible for these programs, outreach and enrollment activities can indeed be one of the most effective strategies for covering uninsured children. 1 Yet equally important is making sure those children, once enrolled, do not unnecessarily lose their coverage and join the ranks of the uninsured.
Paying attention to the problem of keeping children enrolled within public insurance programs, chiefly Medicaid and CHIP, makes sense for two reasons:
- Ongoing health insurance coverage is effective because it helps to ensure appropriate preventive, primary, and condition-based care, 2 which ultimately can improve health outcomes. Research shows that even brief gaps in health coverage cause people to skip or delay care, 3 while uninterrupted coverage can reduce avoidable hospitalizations for children by 25 percent. 4
- In addition to the health benefits of continual care, stable coverage reduces administrative costs associated with unnecessary re-processing applications and resolving billing issues. 5
Although states have had some success in ensuring children remain enrolled, there are still specific strategies that can be utilized to ensure children are not unnecessarily falling off coverage and again joining the ranks of the uninsured.
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 Background
Footnotes
1. L. Dubay analysis of March 2005 Current Population Survey using July 2004 state eligibility rules. Back
2. L. Summer & C. Mann, "Instability of Public Health Insurance Coverage For Children And Their Families: Causes, Consequences, and Remedies," Georgetown University Health Policy Institute, (June 2006). Back
3. L. Ku & D. Cohen Ross, "Staying Covered: The Importance Of Retaining Health Insurance For Low-Income Families," Center on Budget And Policy Priorities, (December 2002). Back
4. L. Ku, "New Research Shows Simplifying Medicaid Can Reduce Children's Hospitalizations," Center on Budget and Policy Priorities, (June 2007). Back
5. op. cit. (2). Back
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Summary