Citation URL: http://www.urban.org/SarahStaveteig

California recently applied for a waiver of federal State Children's Health Insurance Program (SCHIP) requirements that would allow it to expand Healthy Families, its insurance program for low-income children, to parents. This paper explores the implications of expanding Healthy Families for marginal tax rates and marriage penalties and bonuses. The authors use a model of California tax and transfer programs to analyze the impact of the proposed expansion on the work and marriage incentives of several prototypical families. They also discuss tradeoffs associated with program expansion and examined a few alternative designs based on higher income limits and different premium structures. (Published by the Medi-Cal Policy Institute; 2001 September.)

California recently applied for a waiver of federal State Children’s Health Insurance Program (SCHIP) requirements that would allow it to expand Healthy Families, its insurance program for low-income children, to parents. This brief summarizes the findings from a larger paper written by the authors that explored the implications of expanding Healthy Families for marginal tax rates and marriage penalties and bonuses, as well as alternative design options that might increase work and marriage incentives. (Published by the Medi-Cal Policy Institute; 2001 September.)

Using data collected by the National Survey of America's Families (NSAF), this Snapshot compares changes in seven indicators of family well-being--employment, family income, food hardship, housing hardship, family structure, health insurance, and health status--between 1997 and 1999 by race and ethnicity. Data are grouped into three racial and ethnic categories: white non-Hispanics, black non-Hispanics, and Hispanics of all races (referred to as white, black, and Hispanic, respectively).

This brief uses data from the 1997 National Survey of America's Families (NSAF) to show that black, Hispanic, and Native American families face hardship that is not tied to income alone. This brief looks at poverty, family structure, child support, food and housing hardship, and health status and insurance coverage. Among the findings: over one-half of low-income blacks, Hispanics, and Native Americans experienced hardship. Even at higher incomes, blacks, Hispanics, and Native Americans are nearly twice as likely to experience food hardships as whites. Regardless of income, Hispanic adults are more likely to report being in fair or poor health.

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