Health
Insurance and Access to Care for Children and Adolescents
Knowledge
Path
November 2006
Table
of Contents |
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Please provide feedback on
this knowledge path. |
Introduction
This knowledge path, compiled
by the Maternal
and Child Health Library at
Georgetown University, offers a selection
of recent, high-quality resources about
child and adolescent health insurance
and access to care. Emphasis is placed
on Medicaid and the State Children's
Health Insurance Program (SCHIP). The
knowledge path is aimed at health professionals,
program administrators, policymakers,
and researchers. It includes a section
on child and adolescent health coverage
campaigns. A separate section lists resources
for families. This knowledge path will
be updated periodically.
Related knowledge path topics: See Children
and adolescents with special health
care needs for
resources about health insurance and
access to care for children and adolescents
with special health care needs, Early
and Periodic Screening, Diagnostic,
and Treatment (EPSDT) services for
resources about the provision of EPSDT
services under Medicaid, and Oral
health and children and adolescents for
resources about accessing and financing
oral health care.
Overview
- See State
of kids coverage (2006).
This report was prepared by the State
Health Access Data Assistance Center
(SHADAC) for
a Covering
Kids and Families (CKF) campaign.
The report compares data about uninsured
and publicly and privately insured
children and adolescents in the United
States overall and by state for the
years before and after the implementation
of SCHIP. In addition, data about
the number of uninsured children
and adolescents by race and ethnicity
are analyzed. The report also examines
the consequences of being without
health insurance for all or part
of the year compared to having full-year
insurance coverage.

Web Sites: A-Z
- Agency
for Healthcare Research and Quality
(AHRQ).
Contains data from the Kids'
Inpatient Database (KID), Medical
Expenditure Panel Survey (MEPS), and National
Quality Measures Clearinghouse
(NQMC) along
with research
results about
child and adolescent health insurance
and access to health care. AHRQ
is the health services research
arm of the Department
of Health and Human Services
(DHHS).
Resources and initiatives include
Child
Health Insurance Research Initiative
(CHIRI).
Offers program
information and research
findings for
policymakers to help them improve
access to, and the quality of,
health care for children and
adolescents from families with
low incomes.
Child
Health Toolbox: Measuring Performance
in Child Health Programs Access,
Quality, and Health Service Delivery.
Contains tips and tools to help
state and local policymakers and
program administrators evaluate
Medicaid, SCHIP, Title V, and other
health care service programs for
children and adolescents.
- Alliance
for Health Reform.
Provides background materials,
transcripts, and Webcasts from
briefings about child
and adolescent health insurance.
The alliance is a nonpartisan,
nonprofit group aiming to inform
elected officials, their staffs,
journalists, policy analysts, and
advocates about health coverage
issues. Recent resources include
Health
care coverage in America: Understanding
the issues and proposed solutions.
(2007).
Health
services for children: The role
of Medicaid and its benefit package.
(2005).
Improving
coverage stability for kids in
Medicaid and SCHIP.
(2006).
Outreach
and enrollment for kids.
(2005).
SCHIP
and Medicaid enrollment: What's
next? (2006).
- American
Academy of Pediatrics (AAP): Access
to Care, Medicaid, and the State
Children's Health Insurance Program
(SCHIP).
Offers fact sheets, policy statements,
grant and program information,
an evaluation tool, and outreach
and enrollment strategies. Initiatives
and recent resources include
2006
pediatric medical cost model,
rev. ed.
(2006). This is an actuarial
analysis of AAP's recommended
comprehensive children's health
benefit package.
Community
Access to Child Health (CATCH)
Program.
Provides grant information and
tools for pediatricians to develop
and implement a community-based
child health initiative to ensure
that all children have medical
homes and access to any other needed
health care services.
Healthy
Tomorrows Partnership for Children
Program (HTPCP).
Offers information about this grant
program to support community-based
efforts to improve access to health
care for families.
Medicaid
and child health care.
(2005). This set of fact sheets
for every state explains the importance
of the Medicaid program and how
children rely on it for their health
care. AAP developed the fact sheets
with the National
Association of Children's Hospitals
(NACH).
- Census
Bureau.
Offers data about health
insurance coverage in
the United States. Recent reports
include
Income,
poverty, and health insurance
coverage in the United States:
2005.
(2006).
- Center
for Children and Families (CCF).
Presents analyses of federal policy
developments and state-based initiatives
affecting the health care coverage
of America's families. CCF is based
at Georgetown University's Health
Policy Institute. Recent publications
include
SCHIP
eligibility primer.
(2006).
SCHIP
financing primer.
(2006).
Success
story: Closing the insurance gap
for America's children through
Medicaid and SCHIP.
(2005).
Why
Medicaid matters: The frontline
perspectives of people with chronic
conditions.
(2005). An executive
summary is
available.
Also see the institute's
consumer resource, healthinsuranceinfo.net.
- Center
for Health Care Strategies (CHCS).
Provides program and grant information
and resources for policymakers,
researchers, consumer groups, and
others involved in the design,
implementation, and monitoring
of Medicaid and SCHIP managed care.
CHCS is a nonprofit policy resource
center that promotes high-quality
health care services for low-income
populations and people with chronic
illnesses and disabilities. Recent
publications include
Enhancing
child development services in
Medicaid managed care: A best
clinical and administrative
practices toolkit.
(2005).
Improving
coordination between school-based
health centers and Medicaid managed
care.
(2004).
- Center
for Health Services Research and
Policy (CHSRP).
Presents analyses of developments
in Medicaid,
SCHIP, and Medicare policies
and the impact of these developments
on health care access, quality,
and financing. CHSRP is located
at the George Washington University
School of Public Health and Health
Services. Recent publications include
Defined-contribution
plans and limited-benefit arrangements:
Implications for Medicaid beneficiaries.
(2006).
From
SCHIP benefit design to individual
coverage decisions.
(2006).
Medicaid's
role in treating children in military
families.
(2005).
National
security and U.S. child health
policy: The origins and continuing
role of Medicaid and EPSDT.
(2005).
- Center
for Studying Health System Change
(HSC).
Contains issue briefs, reports,
data bulletins, and articles about Medicaid
and SCHIP.
HSC aims to inform policymakers
about how local and national changes
in the financing and delivery of
health care affect people. Recent
publications include
Public
coverage provides vital safety
net for children with special
health care needs.
(2005).
- Center
on Budget and Policy Priorities
(CBPP).
Contains analyses of state health
insurance programs and barriers
that prevent eligible families
from accessing coverage. CBPP is
a nonpartisan research and policy
organization that focuses on government
policies and programs, particularly
those affecting people with low
and moderate incomes. A selection
of recent publications include
Children
in foster care may have to delay
health care because of federal
regulations on citizenship requirement.
(2006).
Differences
that make a difference: Comparing
Medicaid and the State Children's
Health Insurance Program federal
benefits standards.
(2005).
Freezing
SCHIP funding in SCHIP reauthorization
would threaten recent gains in
health coverage.
(2006).
Medicaid
and SCHIP retention in challenging
times: Strategies from managed
care organizations.
(2005).
Also see CBPP's Start
Healthy, Stay Healthy Campaign.
- Centers
for Medicare and Medicaid Services
(CMS).
Contains general information about Medicaid with
links to eligibility
information.
Offers an overview of
the EPSDT program, which provides
comprehensive health services for
infants, children, and adolescents
enrolled in Medicaid. Also contains
resources about SCHIP,
including an overview of
the program and state
plans and state plan amendments.
CMS administers Medicare, Medicaid,
and SCHIP.
- Child
and Adolescent Health Measurement
Initiative (CAHMI): Medicaid Implementation
of CAHMI Tools.
Offers a set of tools for measuring
and communicating information about
the quality of Medicaid services
for children and adolescents. CAHMI
works to ensure that children,
adolescents, and families are at
the center of quality measurement
and improvement efforts in order
to advance a high-quality consumer-centered
health care system. Also see CAHMI's Data
Resource Center for Child and Adolescent
Health (DRC).
- Childrens
Defense Fund (CDF): A Healthy Start.
Offers basic information about
Medicaid and SCHIP, information
about federal health insurance
enrollment initiatives, caregiver
materials, and reports about child
and adolescent health insurance
and access to care. CDF is a research
and advocacy group for infants,
children, and adolescents. Recent
initiatives and publications include
Improving
children's health: Understanding
children's health disparities
and promising approaches to
address them.
(2006).
Also see the 100%
Campaign.
- Commonwealth
Fund.
Contains program information and
an extensive collection of reports
about child and adolescent health
and development and health care
coverage for families. The Commonwealth
Fund is a private foundation that
supports independent research on
health care issues to promote a
high-performing health care system
for all Americans. The Commonwealth
Fund offers an electronic
alert service.
Recent publications and initiatives
include
Automatically
enrolling eligible children
and families into Medicaid and
SCHIP: Opportunities, obstacles,
and options for federal policymakers.
(2006).
Comparing
EPSDT and commercial insurance
benefits.
(2005).
EPSDT
and children's coverage costs.
(2005).
EPSDT:
An overview.
(2005).
How
Medicaid and EPSDT promote healthy
child development among children
with special health care needs.
(2005).
How
medical claims simplification can
impede delivery of child developmental
services.
(2005).
HRSA
state planning grant update: A
review of coverage strategies and
pilot planning activities.
(2005).
Instability
of public health insurance coverage
for children and their families:
Causes, consequences, and remedies.
(2006).
Medicaid/EPSDT:
An investment in human capital.
A fund e-forum.
(2006).
Program
on the Future of Health Insurance.
Offers grant information and related
reports about this program to identify
strategies to expand and improve
health insurance coverage for America's
workers and their families.
- Community
Voices: HealthCare for the Underserved
(CV).
Contains program information, articles,
and policy briefs about community
efforts to improve access to high-quality
health care services in underserved
communities. CV is a national initiative
of the W.
K. Kellogg Foundation.
- Department
of Health and Human Services: Office
of the Inspector General.
Offers a series of reports about
studies conducted in eight states
to assess whether sampled children
in foster care are receiving health
care services that fulfill federal
and state requirements, including
EPSDT medical and dental examinations
and an initial health examination
upon entry into foster care. The
state reports are Georgia (2005), Illinois (2004), Kansas (2003), New
Jersey (2003), New
York (2005), North
Dakota (2004), Oregon (2004),
and Texas (2004).
- EXPRESSLANE.
Offers tools and program examples to
help communities and states increase
children's enrollment in public health
insurance programs by connecting Medicaid
and SCHIP with other public programs
that have similar eligibility guidelines,
such as the Food Stamp Program and
the School Lunch Program. The Web site
is a service of The
Children's Partnership.
Recent publications include
California's
Express Enrollment Program:
Lessons from the Medi-Cal/School
Lunch Pilot Program and suggested
next steps in making enrollment
gateways efficient and effective.
(2006).
Express
Lane Eligibility Project: Evaluation
report.
(2006).
Opening
doorways to health care for children:
10 steps to ensure eligible but
uninsured children get health insurance.
(2006).
- Families
USA.
Includes legislative news and tools
about Medicaid
and children's health.
Families USA advocates at the national,
state, and local levels for high-quality,
affordable health care for all
Americans. In addition to an electronic
newsletter,
resources include
Making
It Work for Consumers.
Offers resources for consumer-assistance
programs, states, and advocates
to help consumers establish
their eligibility for Medicaid
and to get Medicaid to cover
their health care needs.
Medicaid
Action Center.
Contains tools for advocating to
keep Medicaid a guarantee of health
insurance for vulnerable populations,
including vulnerable children and
adolescents. Includes information
about changes to Medicaid nationally
and at the state level.
Medicaid
Waiver Toolbox.
Contains resources for tracking
the Section 1115 waiver process
that states can use to make changes
to their Medicaid and SCHIP programs.
- Health
Coverage Coalition for the Uninsured.
Presents information about this
diverse coalition of 16 leading,
national health care organizations
that have forged an agreement to
expand health insurance coverage
for individuals who are uninsured.
Includes access to a two-phased
consensus proposal.
- HRSA
Medicaid Primer.
Offers a set of fact sheets to
assist state and local health officials
in understanding how Medicaid works
and how it can assure access to
health services for underserved
populations, including eligible
children and adolescents. This
primer is provided by the Health
Resources and Services Administration
(HRSA).
- Incenter
Strategies.
Offers resources to promote comprehensive,
interidsciplinary models of physical
and behavioral health care for
adolescents that are easily accessible
and appropriate. Incenter Strategies
is devoted to education, research,
policy analysis, and technical
assistance to support improvements
in the way adolescent health care
is structured and financed. Recent
publications include
Making
the case for adolescent health.
(2007).
Preliminary
thoughts on restructuring Medicaid
to promote adolescent health.
(2007).
- Institute
for Child Health Policy (ICHP).
Offers evaluations of Florida's
Medicaid and SCHIP programs. ICHP
is a statewide institution of Florida's
state university system.
- Institute
of Medicine (IOM): The Consequences
of Uninsurance.
Contains information and reports
from this 3-year study about lacking
health insurance and its implications
for uninsured individuals, their
families, their communities, and
the nation. IOM is part of the National
Academy of Sciences.
- Kaiser
Family Foundation (KFF): Medicaid/SCHIP.
Contains a wealth of resources,
including news,
publications, program information,
a Medicaid
benefits database,
and state-level
data about
health care coverage and access
for families with low incomes. KaiserEDU.org offers
online tutorials and links to research,
policy analysis, and data on Medicaid
and SCHIP for
faculty and students. KFF is an
independent philanthropy focusing
on national health care issues.
Recent materials include
Enrolling
uninsured low-income children
in Medicaid and SCHIP.
(2005).
Financing
health coverage: The State Children's
Health Insurance Program experience.
(2005).
Health
coverage for low-income populations:
A comparison of Medicaid and SCHIP.
(2006).
In
a time of growing need: State choices
influence health coverage access
for children and families.
(2005).
Increasing
premiums and cost sharing in Medicaid
and SCHIP: Recent state experiences.
(2005).
Medicaid
and SCHIP eligibility for immigrants.
(2006).
Navigating
Medicare and Medicaid, 2005: A
resource guide for people with
disabilities, their families, and
their advocates.
(2005).
Opening
doorways to health care for children:
10 steps to ensure eligible but
uninsured children get health insurance.
(2006).
Outreach
strategies for Medicaid and SCHIP:
An overview of effective strategies
and activities.
(2006).
SCHIP
enrollment in 50 states.
(2005).
- National
Academy for State Health Policy
(NASHP).
Provides state program information
and reports for state policymakers
about health
care access for the uninsured, Medicaid,
and SCHIP.
NASHP is a nonpartisan public policy
center focusing on state health
policy and practice. Recent resources
include
Charting
SCHIP III: An analysis of the
third comprehensive survey of
State Children's Health Insurance
Programs.
(2006).
CHIPCentral.org.
Presents information for state and
federal officials and policymakers
about SCHIP policy and implementation.
Topics include SCHIP program design;
outreach, enrollment, and retention;
access to and quality of care; federal
and state financing; and program
evaluation.
Covering
All Kids, All the Time.
Offers fact sheets, issue briefs,
research findings, and key recommendations
from state and national experts
about providing health insurance
coverage to all children and adolescents
continuously. Also provides links
to states with plans or programs
covering all children and adolescents.
Making
Medicaid work for the 21st century:
Improving health and long-term
care coverage for low-income Americans.
(2005). A series of issue
briefs accompany
the report.
SCHIP
buy-in programs.
(2006).
Strategies
for improving access to mental
health services in SCHIP programs.
(2006).
What
families think about cost-sharing
policies in SCHIP.
(2005).
- National
Center for Farmworker Health (NCFH):
SCHIP/Medicaid Policy.
Offers reports about state efforts
to increase access to Medicaid
and SCHIP for migrant farmworkers
and their families. NCFH is dedicated
to improving the health status
of farmworker families nationally.
- National
Conference of State Legislatures
(NCSL).
Offers legislative news, issue
briefs, charts, and an electronic
newsletter for
state policymakers and the public
about health
finance, cost, insurance, Medicaid,
and SCHIP.
NCSL, an association of state lawmakers
and legislative staff members,
conducts research and offers technical
assistance on state issues, including
health policy. In addition to a
database of Medicaid
benefits and
a compilation of state
Medicaid reform waivers and amendments,
recent resources include
State
Children's Health Insurance Program
charts, rev. ed.
(2005).
State
of children's health insurance:
Who's covered and who's not? (2006).
- National
Council of La Raza (NCLR): Access
to Health Insurance.
Offers legislative news, reports,
and background materials about
eliminating or reducing barriers
that prevent Latino families from
accessing health care. Includes
information about efforts to restore
legal immigrants' eligibility for
Medicaid and SCHIP. NCLR is the
largest Latino civil rights and
advocacy organization in the United
States. Recent publications include
Backgrounder:
Citizenship documentation requirement
comes into effect.
(2006).
Role
of employer-sponsored health coverage
for immigrants: A primer.
(2006).
- National
Health Law Program (NHeLP).
Offers manuals, issue briefs, case
dockets, and other resources about
Medicaid, SCHIP, and children's
access to health care. NHeLP is
a national public-interest law
firm that aims to improve health
care for families with low incomes,
minorities, the elderly, and people
with disabilities. Initiatives
and publications include
Childrens
health under Medicaid: A national
review of Early and Periodic Screening,
Diagnosis and Treatment, 3rd ed. (2005).
Deficit
Reduction Act of 2005: Reference
chart.
(2006).
State
responses to the CMS policy change
on Medicaid coverage for newborns.
(2006).
Waiver
Watch.
Monitors Medicaid and SCHIP waiver
requests from states seeking to
redesign their programs.
Also see NHeLP's Healthcarecoach.com.
- SCHIP
Evaluation.
Contains information and publications
about national evaluations of SCHIP
to determine the effectiveness
of the program and to provide information
to guide future federal and state
policy. This resource is provided
by the Assistant
Secretary for Planning and Evaluation
(ASPE), Department
of Health and Human Services (DHHS).
Recent reports include
Congressionally
mandated evaluation of the State
Children's Health Insurance
Program: Final report to Congress.
(2005).
- State
Coverage Initiatives (SCI).
Offers information for state policymakers
on best practices for planning,
implementing, and maintaining health
insurance expansions and improving
the availability and affordability
of health care coverage. Resources
include a database
of reports written
by states about their health coverage
programs and expansion strategies,
a state
coverage matrix presenting
strategies used by states to expand
health insurance coverage, and
an online newsletter.
SCI is a national program of the Robert
Wood Johnson Foundation (RWJF).
Recent publications include
State
of the states.
(2006). This annual report describes
health coverage expansion efforts
in all 50 states and Washington,
D.C.
Uncharted
territory: Current trends in Section
1115 demonstrations.
(2006).
- State
Health Access Data Assistance Center
(SHADAC).
Offers survey research tools, issue
briefs, data analyses, reports,
and other resources about health
care access and coverage at the
state level. SHADAC is a state-level
health policy analysis and research
center at the University of Minnesota
School of Public Health. See SHADAC's
recent report, State
of kids coverage (2006)
prepared for a Covering
Kids and Families (CKF) campaign.
- Urban
Institute (UI): Health Policy Center.
Includes many publications that
examine issues affecting child
and adolescent health insurance
and access to care. Also offers
a wealth of resources from Assessing
the New Federalism,
a multiyear research project to
analyze how children and families
fare during a time of major change
in federal-state strategies for
supporting low-income families.
Program components comprise the National
Survey of America's Families and state
reports and profiles,
including profiles of health insurance,
access, and use. UI is a nonpartisan
economic and social policy research
organization. Recent publications
include
Assessing
the gains from Medicaid coverage:
Evidence for the nation and
13 states.
(2006).
Evaluation
of the San Mateo County Children's
Health Initiative: Second annual
report.
(2005).
Healthy
start for the Los Angeles Healthy
Kids program: Findings from the
first evaluation case study.
(2006).
Los
Angeles Healthy Kids improves access
to care for young children: Early
results from the Healthy Kids evaluation.
(2006).
Medicaid
spending on foster children.
(2005).
Racial
and ethnic differences in insurance
coverage and health care access
and use: A synthesis of findings
from the Assessing the New Federalism
project.
(2006).
Role
of Medicaid and SCHIP as an insurance
safety net.
(2006).
What
do parents say about the Los Angeles
Healthy Kids program? Findings
from the first evaluation focus
groups.
(2006).
Why
do people lack health insurance? (2006).
- Also see Family
Voices.

Additional Electronic
Publications
- Allen KG. 2007. Children's
health insurance: State experiences
in implementing SCHIP and considerations
for reauthorization.
Washington, DC: Government
Accountability Office (GAO).
This report presents testimony of
the GAO before the U.S. Senate Committee
on Finance. The testimony addresses
trends in SCHIP enrollment and the
current composition of SCHIP programs
across the states, states' spending
experiences under SCHIP, and considerations
for SCHIP reauthorization.
- Association
of Maternal and Child Health Programs
(AMCHP).
2005. Working
together: The relationship between
MCH Title V and Medicaid.
Washington, DC: Association of Maternal
and Child Health Programs. This fact
sheet describes how two federal programs
created by the Social Security Act,
the Maternal and Child Health Services
Block Grant (Title V), and Medicaid
(Title XIX) collaborate to ensure
that families with low incomes receive
the health services they need.
- Communities
in Charge.
2005. Improving access to health care: Building a community-based program.
Cleveland. OH: Communities in Charge. This
manual highlights the knowledge gained
from an initiative to help 12 communities
design and implement new community-based
approaches to financing and developing
health care for the uninsured or
to significantly expand existing
approaches.
- Damiano PC, Tyler MC.
2005. Hawk-i:
Impact on access and health status.
Iowa City, IA: University
of Iowa Public Policy Center. This
report evaluates the Healthy and Well
Kids in Iowa (hawk-i) Program, Iowa's
SCHIP. Topics include access to health
care, health status, and the family
environment of enrolled children. Other evaluations of
hawk-i are available.
- English A, Stinnett
AJ, Dunn-Georgiou E. 2006. Health
care for adolescents and young adults
leaving foster care: Policy options
for improving access.
Chapel Hill, NC: Center
for Adolescent Health and the Law. The
issue brief explains how Medicaid and
SCHIP can be used for adolescents and
young adults leaving foster care.
- Fox HB, Limb SJ. 2005. States'
use of Medicaid options for expanding
children's eligibility.
Washington, DC: Maternal
and Child Health Policy Research
Center.
This fact sheet reports on states'
options for expanding Medicaid eligibility
to children who do not qualify for
mandatory coverage.
- Fox H, McManus P. 2005. 50-state
analysis of Medicaid benefit coverage
for children without EPSDT.
Washington, DC: Maternal
and Child Health Policy Research
Center.
This memorandum provides an analysis
of limits on the amount, duration,
and scope of Medicaid coverage that
would be available to children in
50 states (excluding Oregon and including
the District of Columbia) if the
EPSDT benefits requirement were eliminated
and states applied the coverage policies
currently in effect for categorically
needy adults.
- Grantmakers
in Health.
2006. More
coverage, better care: Improving
children's access to health services.
Washington, DC: Grantmakers in Health.
This report provides descriptive
information on trends in children's
health insurance as well as delivery
system improvements that complement
efforts to expand children's coverage.
Effective grantmaking strategies
are also discussed.
- Harbage P. 2006. Healthy
Families facts and figures: Coverage
for low-income children in California.
Oakland, CA: California
HealthCare Foundation.
This report describes Healthy Families,
California's SCHIP program.
- Lewin Group. 2006. Estimated
cost and coverage: Impacts of four
proposals to expand health insurance
coverage for children in California.
Los Angeles, CA: California
Endowment.
This report compares four proposals
to expand health insurance coverage
for children in California.
- Maternal
and Child Health Bureau (MCHB).
2005. Health
and well-being of children: A portrait
of states and the nation 2005.
Rockville, MD: Maternal and Child
Health Bureau. This chartbook provides
an overview of children's health
characteristics, brings together
national and state-level data, and
points to a need to improve access
to health care for children from
families with low incomes, children
with no health insurance, and children
with special health care needs.
- Pew Center on the States.
2006. Special
report on Medicaid: Bridging the gap
between care and cost.
Washington, DC: Pew
Center on the States.
This report on Medicaid analyzes how
state Medicaid programs are wrestling
with rising costs and highlights examples
of which innovations are working, which
are not, and why.
- Quinn A, Rosenbach
M. 2005. Beyond
coverage: SCHIP makes strides toward
providing a usual source of care to
low-income children. Final report.
Cambridge, MA: Mathematica
Policy Research, Inc. This
report synthesizes qualitative and
quantitative evidence on the extent
to which SCHIP enrollees report having
a usual source of care.
- Rivas C, Galloway-Gilliam
L. 2006. Path
to accessing health coverage: Outreach,
enrollment, retention and utilization.
Los Angeles, CA: California
Endowment.
This policy brief identifies the challenges
and opportunities for covering more
than 800,000 uninsured children in
California and presents principles
to strengthen outreach, enrollment,
retention, and utilization in California.
- Rubin D, Halfon N,
Raghavan R, Rosenbaum S. 2005. Protecting
children in foster care: Why proposed
Medicaid cuts harm our nation's most
vulnerable youth.
Seattle, WA: Casey
Family Programs.
This report examines Medicaid's role
in providing health care to children
and adolescents in foster care and
assesses the implications of various
Medicaid reform proposals. Related
publications,
including a fact sheet presenting the
report's key observations and recommendations
as well as profiles of young adults
formerly in foster care, are also available.
- Ryan J. 2005. Local
coverage initiatives: Solution or
Band-aid for the uninsured? Washington,
DC: National
Health Policy Forum. This
issue brief surveys health-care-coverage
expansion initiatives that are operating
on the county or local level, often
without federal funding.
- Seid M, Varni JW, Cummings
L, Schonlau M. 2006. Impact
of realized access to care on health-related
quality of life: A two-year prospective
cohort study of children in the California
State Children's Health Insurance Program.
Santa Monica, CA: RAND
Corporation.
This research brief examines SCHIP's
effect on children's access to needed
health services and on their quality
of life. The study found that, after
enrollment, children received needed
health care services more frequently
and also reported quality-of-life improvements,
such as doing better in school, feeling
better physically, and getting along
better with peers.
- Shirk C, Ryan J. 2006. Premium
assistance in Medicaid and SCHIP:
Ace in the hole or house of cards? Washington,
DC: National
Health Policy Forum.
This issue brief explores the use
of federal and state funds to subsidize
the premiums for the purchase of
private insurance coverage for eligible
individuals in Medicaid and SCHIP.
- Stevens GD, Cousineau
MR, Rice K. 2006. Monitoring
the expansion of children's health
initiatives in California.
Los Angeles, CA: California
Endowment.
Healthy Kids programs, both operational
and planned, have emerged in 31 California
counties and have enrolled more than
85,000 children, changing the insurance
landscape for children in the state.
This evaluation brief describes the
experiences of and challenges faced
by these innovative programs.
- Trenholm C, Howell
EM, Hughes D, Orzol S. 2005. Santa
Clara County Healthy Kids Program:
Impacts on children's medical, dental,
and vision care: Final report.
Princeton, NJ: Mathematica
Policy Research, Inc.
This report profiles the children and
families who participate in Healthy
Kids, an innovative program in Santa
Clara County, California, which serves
children from families with low incomes
who are ineligible for state programs.
The program is a model for other similar
initiatives across the state.
- University of Southern
California Division of Community Health.
2006. Reaching
out and reaching in: Understanding
efforts to identify and enroll uninsured
children into health insurance programs.
Los Angeles, CA: California
Endowment.
This report reviews what is known about
the effectiveness of outreach and enrollment
strategies and provides a framework
for evaluating future outreach and
enrollment programs.
- VanLandeghem K. 2005. MCH
update: States protect health care
coverage during recent fiscal downturn.
Washington, DC: National
Governors Association (NGA).
This report documents 2003 data on
health care coverage of infants,
children, adolescents, and pregnant
women under Medicaid and SCHIP and
highlights state policies to streamline
program eligibility and enrollment.

Health Insurance
Campaigns
- 100%
Campaign.
Contains reports, fact sheets,
press releases, and other resources
for this campaign to ensure that
all of California's children and
adolescents have health insurance.
The campaign is a collaborative
effort of Children
Now,
the Childrens
Defense Fund (CDF),
and the Children's
Partnership.
- Campaign
for Children's Health Care.
Contains press releases, news,
and resources to help coordinate
public-education efforts across
the country to demonstrate the
importance of health insurance
for children and families and to
make expanded health coverage for
children a national priority. The
campaign is led by a diverse group
of organizations representing health
professionals, educators, parents,
advocates, and others. Resources
include
No
shelter from the storm: America's
uninsured children.
(2006).
Why
health insurance matters for children:
Six good reasons why children should
have health insurance.
(2006).
- Covering
Kids and Families (CKF).
Offers campaign materials in English
and Spanish, descriptions of promising
strategies, and reports to support
this national health access initiative
for uninsured children, adolescents,
and adults with low incomes. Includes
a Communications
Action Center for
Web-based training and toolkits
for planning communications and
outreach efforts. CKF, a project
of the Robert
Wood Johnson Foundation (RWJF),
is focused on reducing the number
of eligible but uninsured children
and adults through enrollment in
Medicaid or SCHIP. Recent publications
include
State
of kids coverage.
(2006). This report was prepared
by the State
Health Access Data Assistance
Center (SHADAC) to
kick off CFK's 2006 Back-to-School
Campaign, an annual, nationwide
effort encouraging parents to
enroll their eligible, uninsured
children in Medicaid or SCHIP
as an important part of preparing
for the new school year.
- Cover
the Uninsured Week.
Contains fact sheets, data charts,
consumer guides to finding health
insurance in each state, information
about legislative proposals on
the national level and strategies
being employed on the state level
to address health care coverage
issues, and other materials for
this annual campaign to raise awareness
about the importance of having
health care coverage for all Americans.
Includes a fact
sheet about
uninsured children. Some materials
are available in Spanish. This
campaign is a project of the Robert
Wood Johnson Foundation (RWJF) with
support from many national organizations
and foundations.
- Start
Healthy, Stay Healthy Campaign.
Contains information about and
materials for this national outreach
effort to identify children and
adolescents from working families
with low incomes who may be eligible
for free or low-cost health insurance
programs. The campaign also promotes
coordination between state child
health programs and Medicaid to
ensure that children and adolescents
are not in danger of being left
without coverage. This campaign
is an initiative of the Center
on Budget and Policy Priorities
(CBPP).

Databases
The databases listed below
are excellent tools for identifying data,
additional literature
and research,
and programs about
health insurance and access to health
care for children and adolescents. Many
of the entries below contain tips on
how to use the databases efficiently.
Please note that databases vary in how
terms should be entered; for example,
some require quotation marks and others
don't. Enter search phrases as shown
in bold below.
- Data
- ChildStats.gov.
Presents statistics and reports about
children and families, including population
and family characteristics, economic
security, health, behavior and social
environment, and education. View statistics
about access to health care. ChildStats.gov
is a service of the Federal Interagency
Forum on Child and Family Statistics.
- Child
Trends DataBank.
Reports on national trends and
research on over 80 key indicators
of infant, child, and adolescent
well-being. Child Trends is a nonprofit,
nonpartisan research organization
providing research and data to
inform decision-making that affects
families. Recent analyses include
Health
care coverage.
(2004).
Well
child visits.
(2006).
- Data
Resource Center for Child and Adolescent
Health (DRC).
Provides access to and use of data
from the National Survey of Children's
Health, 2003, and the National
Survey of Children with Special
Health Care Needs, 2001. Users
can search and compare results
on over 100 indicators of child
health and well-being; view state
and regional profiles on key measures;
explore survey content relevant
to Healthy
People 2010 objectives;
and compare findings at all levels
for children by age, race and ethnicity,
income, or health status. Topics
include health insurance status,
type of coverage, and access and
use of health care services. DRC
is a project of the Child
and Adolescent Health Measurement
Initiative (CAHMI).
- Kids'
Inpatient Database (KID).
Contains data from 2 to 3 million
hospital discharges of children
and adolescents in the United States
that researchers, policymakers,
and others can use to identify,
track, and analyze national trends
in children's health care utilization,
access, charges, quality, and outcomes.
KID may be purchased for $200 for
each year produced. KID is sponsored
by the Agency
for Healthcare Research and Quality
(AHRQ).
- Medical
Expenditure Panel Survey (MEPS).
Contains data on the specific health
services that Americans use, how
frequently they use them, the cost
of these services, and how they
are paid for, as well as data on
the cost, scope, and breadth of
private health insurance held by
and available to the U.S. population.
MEPS is sponsored by the Agency
for Healthcare Research and Quality
(AHRQ).
Recent analyses include
Access
to needed medical care among
children under 18 years of age
with special health care needs,
2002.
(2005).
Children's
usual source of care: United States,
2002.
(2005).
Health
insurance status of children in
America, first half 1996-2005:
Estimates for the US civilian noninstitutionalized
population under age 18.
(2006).
Trends
in children's eligibility for public
insurance for families with children,
1996-2002 (first half).
(2005).
Trends
in children's health insurance
coverage for families with children,
1996-2002 (first half).
(2005).
- National
Health Interview Survey.
Monitors the health of the U.S.
population through the collection
and analysis of data on a broad
range of health topics including
health insurance coverage and access
to health care. The survey is sponsored
by the National
Center for Health Statistics.
Recent analyses include
Health
insurance coverage: Estimates
from the National Health Interview
Survey, 2005.
(2006).
Summary
health statistics for U.S. children:
National Health Interview Survey,
2005.
(2006).
- National
Quality Measures Clearinghouse
(NQMC).
Contains evidence-based health care quality
measures and measure sets for physicians,
hospitals, and health plans to evaluate
and improve the quality of health care
for consumers. Identify measures on this
topic by entering insurance, health
OR health services accessibility in
the Keyword field of the detailed search
form. Scroll down on the search form
to select Age Range (e.g., Adolescent,
Child, Infant). Hold down the control
key (ctrl) or Apple command key and click
your mouse to make multiple selections.
The database is sponsored by the Agency
for Healthcare Research and Quality (AHRQ).
- State
Health Facts Online.
Contains state-level data on demographics,
health coverage, access to care,
financing, and state legislation.
Click on a state for individual
state profiles, or click on specific
topics to compare data for all
states. Topics include Medicaid
and SCHIP with data on enrollment,
eligibility, and federal spending.
Information will be displayed as
tables, graphs, or color-coded
maps. This database is a service
of the Kaiser
Family Foundation (KFF).
- Title
V Information System (TVIS).
Contains data from annual Title
V Block Grant applications and
reports submitted by all 59 U.S.
states and jurisdictions. To identify
a wealth of information about child
and adolescent health insurance
and access to health care provided
by states, conduct several searches.
Select Program
Data and
scroll to the sections, Individuals
Served and Medicaid and CHIP Eligibility.
Select Measurement
and Indicator Data: National Performance
Measures to
find out how national goals for
providing children and adolescents
with health insurance and access
to health care are being met in
each state. Select Measurement
and Indicator Data: State Priority
Needs Keyword Search and
select the keywords, Access
to Health Care and Insurance, from
the list (each term must be searched
separately). Combine the keywords
with Population (e.g., adolescents,
children, infants). The selections,
State Performance Measures and
State Outcome Measures also provide
information about how states are
addressing this issue. TVIS is
a service of the Maternal
and Child Health Bureau (MCHB).
- Also see the data analyses
and resources of the Census
Bureau,
the State
Health Access Data Assistance Center
(SHADAC),
the Urban
Institute's National Survey of America's
Families,
and MCHB's Health
and well-being of children: A portrait
of states and the nation 2005.
- Literature
and Research Databases
- Maternal
and Child Health Library at
the National
Center for Education in Maternal
and Child Health (NCEMCH),
Georgetown University. Maintains
several databases to collect, manage,
and disseminate knowledge about
maternal and child health (MCH),
with special emphasis on knowledge
gained from initiatives and programs
supported by the Maternal
and Child Health Bureau (MCHB).
The library's bibliographic database
is
MCHLine®.
Comprises an online catalog of
materials in the Maternal and
Child Health Library with many
items about this topic. Selections
of recent items are listed in
the
bibliographies,
Children's health insurance and
Outreach programs and strategies.
Also, search MCHLine® to
identify additional materials
about access to health care. Conduct
two searches in the keyword field
of the database
search form using
the terms "access to health
care" child and "access
to health care"
adolescen. Narrow
your searches by adding
a publication year or
range of years. These
searches identify additional
items not included in
the bibliography.
Also see the MCH
Organizations Database and
the MCH
Projects Database.
- PubMed.
Contains over 17 million citations
for biomedical articles that date back
to the 1950s. These citations are from
MEDLINE and additional life sciences
journals. PubMed includes links to
many sites providing full-text articles
and other related resources. To identify
citations on the topic, enter the search
phrase insurance, health OR health
services accessibility. Then, click
on Limits and make the following selections
on the page: select a date (e.g. Published
in the last 2 years); click on Languages:
English; click on Ages: All Child;
and select Tag Terms: MeSH Major Topic.
Select a type of article and/or add
search terms to further limit the search
(e.g., (insurance, health OR health
services accessibility) AND Medicaid).
Click on Go to get your results. PubMed
is a service of the National
Library of Medicine (NLM).
- State
Reports.
Contains a collection of reports
written by states about their health-coverage
programs and expansion strategies.
Search by state or keyword. The
database is provided by State
Coverage Initiatives (SCI).
- Programs
Databases
- Bureau
of Primary Health Care (BPHC) Service
Delivery Sites.
Offers contact information for
community health centers that provide
free or low-cost care to underserved
populations. The database is searchable
by geographic area and type of
service provided.
- Health
Services Research Projects in Progress
(HSRProj).
Provides information about ongoing
health services research and public
health projects. To identify projects
on the topic, enter the search
phrase (child OR adolescent)
AND (insurance, health OR health
services accessibility). Click
on Search to get your results.
HSRProj is funded by the National
Library of Medicine (NLM).
- Maternal
and Child Health Library at
the National
Center for Education in Maternal
and Child Health (NCEMCH),
Georgetown University. Maintains
two databases to identify organizations
and programs about child and adolescent
health insurance and access to
care:
MCH
Organizations Database.
Lists over 2,000 government,
professional, and voluntary
organizations involved in MCH
activities, primarily at a national
level. Find organizations focusing
on the topic by conducting two
searches in the database using
the terms "health insurance" and "access
to health care" in the keyword
field of the database
search form.
There will be some overlap in
the records identified in these
searches.
MCH
Projects Database.
Comprises an online catalog of projects
funded by the Maternal
and Child Health Bureau (MCHB) through
October 1, 2002. To identify projects
about child health insurance and
access to health care, conduct three
searches using the terms "health
insurance", "access to health
care", and "healthy tomorrows" in
the abstract field of the database
search form.
There will be some overlap in the
records identified in these searches.
Note: The Healthy
Tomorrows projects
focus on linking together the resources
that children need to access health
services.
- Medicaid
Benefits.
Provides information about benefits
covered, populations served, and
the limitations, co-payments, and
reimbursement policies that apply
to Medicaid benefits for all 50
states, the District of Columbia,
and U.S. territories. This database
is a service of the Kaiser
Family Foundation (KFF) and
the National
Conference of State Legislatures
(NCSL).

Electronic Newsletters
and Online Discussion Groups
- Commonwealth
Fund E-Mail Alert.
This e-mail alert service sends
announcements about new developments
and publications in the fund's
program areas, including child
health and development and health
insurance. Also sign up to receive
the fund's electronic serials,
including its annual report, its
bimonthly digest of fund and fund-supported
publications, or its Washington
Health Policy Week in Review.
- Daily
Health Policy Report.
This electronic newsletter reports
on legislative, political, legal,
scientific, and business developments
on health issues such as Medicaid,
access to health care, the uninsured,
minority health, children's health,
and health care advertising. It
is a service of the Kaiser
Family Foundation (KFF).
- State
Health Beat.
This electronic newsletter from Families
USA offers
news about health policy developments
in the states and news about the
work of other state advocates.
- State
Health Notes.
This biweekly electronic newsletter
by the National
Conference of State Legislatures
(NCSL) delivers
health policy news and analyses
to state legislators and legislative
staff, as well as the public. Issue
areas include access to health
care, health insurance, Medicaid,
and SCHIP.
- Stateside.
This electronic newsletter contains
state health coverage program news
for state policymakers. Stateside is
a service of State
Coverage Initiatives (SCI).

Resources
for Families
Author: Susan Brune Lorenzo,
M.L.S., Maternal and Child Health Library.
Reviewers: Ron Finch, Ed.D., National Business
Group on Health; Olivia Pickett, M.A.,
M.L.S., Maternal and Child Health Library.
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