Health Care Access And Use Among Low-Income Children: Who Fares Best?

TLDR

Little is known about how private insurance compares with Medicaid in meeting low‑income children’s health care needs, despite 40 % relying on private coverage. The study evaluates how insurance status affects access to care and service use among low‑income children. We find that Medicaid and privately insured low‑income children have comparable access, but Medicaid‑covered children receive more services and have more visits; expanding public coverage alone may not ensure comprehensive, high‑quality care, and private coverage may need improvements in preventive and dental care.

Abstract

In this paper we assess how access to care and use of services among low-income children vary by insurance status. Although 40 percent of low-income children rely on private health insurance, little is known about how this coverage compares with Medicaid coverage in meeting their health care needs. We find that Medicaid and privately insured low-income children appear to have fairly comparable access but that Medicaid-covered children are more likely to receive services and to have more visits when they receive care. Expanding public coverage may not be sufficient to ensure that all low-income children have access to comprehensive and high-quality care. It may require improvements in preventive and dental care for children with private coverage, an area in which states have limited influence.