ABSTRACT
OBJECTIVES: This study analyzed associations between income eligibility criteria under the State Children's Health Insurance Program (SCHIP) and state characteristics. METHODS: We used multivariate methods to explore relations between eligibility expansions under SCHIP and percentages of uninsured children from low-income families, per capita income, and political characteristics. RESULTS: Proportions of uninsured children, per capita income, and states' preexisting eligibility thresholds were statistically associated with changes in eligibility thresholds, whereas only per capita income was associated with overall SCHIP eligibility thresholds. Political dynamics were not statistically related to SCHIP expansions. CONCLUSIONS: State demographic characteristics were associated with changes in eligibility from preexisting levels but rarely were associated with SCHIP eligibility thresholds.
Subject(s)
Child Health Services/economics , Eligibility Determination/methods , Eligibility Determination/statistics & numerical data , Income/statistics & numerical data , Insurance, Health , Medically Uninsured/statistics & numerical data , Poverty/statistics & numerical data , State Government , Child , Child Health Services/legislation & jurisprudence , Eligibility Determination/legislation & jurisprudence , Health Services Research , Humans , Multivariate Analysis , Politics , Predictive Value of Tests , Regression Analysis , United StatesSubject(s)
Health Services Accessibility/legislation & jurisprudence , Uncompensated Care/legislation & jurisprudence , Universal Health Insurance/legislation & jurisprudence , Delivery of Health Care, Integrated/legislation & jurisprudence , Humans , Medicaid/legislation & jurisprudence , Medicare/legislation & jurisprudence , United StatesABSTRACT
This paper provides estimates of the effects of Medicaid managed care on prenatal care adequacy and infant birthweights, using a census of 1994 Medicaid births in Wisconsin, where some Medicaid recipients were enrolled in fully capitated health maintenance organizations (HMOs) while others remained in traditional fee-for-service (FFS) systems. The results indicate that while Medicaid patients enrolled in managed care programs may be more likely to receive adequate prenatal care, birth outcomes under managed care are not significantly different from those under FFS financing systems. We conclude that cost savings generated by Wisconsin Medicaid managed care are not coming at the expense of maternity patients' or infants' welfare.
Subject(s)
Infant Welfare , Managed Care Programs/standards , Medicaid/economics , Prenatal Care/standards , Quality of Health Care , Adult , Birth Weight , Cost-Benefit Analysis , Female , Health Care Surveys , Humans , Infant, Newborn , Managed Care Programs/economics , Pregnancy , Pregnancy Outcome/economics , United States , WisconsinABSTRACT
OBJECTIVES: This study estimated the number of uninsured children in 1993 who were eligible for Medicaid. METHODS: Data from the March 1990 and 1994 Current Population Surveys were analyzed. RESULTS: At least 2.3 million Medicaid-eligible children were uninsured in 1993. These children were more likely to have a working parent than children on Medicaid. Higher proportions of uninsured children less than 6 years of age, children who lived in female-headed single-parent families, and African-American and Hispanic children were eligible for Medicaid. CONCLUSIONS: Many eligible children do not enroll in Medicaid, and they differ in specific ways from enrolled children.
