Research by Author & Topic

Publications by Genevieve M. Kenney on Health Statistics

This Health Services Research article by Genevieve Kenney, John Holahan, and Len Nichols investigates the extent to which federal surveys that are regularly used to provide information on health insurance coverage and access to care contain the needed data elements to accurately assess alternative policy options to address the problem of uninsurance. The authors conclude that existing surveys have major data gaps and suggest possible solutions. For example, the content of the Current Population Survey could be modified to deal with current shortcomings in the measurement of insurance coverage. (Health Services Research 41(3): 918-945, 2006.)

In early 2003 San Mateo County, California launched the Children's Health Initiative (CHI), a program to ensure that all children have access to comprehensive health insurance coverage. The report describes the governance structure for the CHI; its financing; enrollment growth (for all three public programs); access to services; use and cost of services for all three public programs; satisfaction on the part of both parents and providers; prior insurance and crowd-out; and the effect the initiative has had on hospital finances. Areas identified as needing attention include improving access to after-hours and dental care; increasing the use of preventive service; and developing new sources of financing for the CHI.

This study examines how uninsured adults with chronic health problems are faring vis-a-vis access to care. The analysis is based on the 2003 National Health Interview Survey, relying on self-reports of chronic health conditions. We find that almost half of uninsured adults with chronic conditions forgo needed medical care or prescription drugs due to cost and that they forgo care at much higher rates than their insured counterparts. Serious identifiable gaps in needed medical care were found for every racial, ethnic, and chronic illness subgroup examined.

Data from the 2002 National Survey of America's Families shows that insurance coverage increased 7 percentage points for children in mixed-status families between 1999 and 2002. In 2002, 22 percent of children in mixed-status families lacked health insurance compared with 12 percent of children with citizen parents. Medicaid and SCHIP coverage increased 12 percentage points for children in mixed-status families.

This paper examines the State Children's Health Insurance Program on its five-year anniversary. Over two-thirds of states expanded income eligibility to at least 200 percent of poverty, 35 states created separate programs, and states invested unprecedented resources in outreach and streamlined enrollment procedures. SCHIP and Medicaid could cover 84 percent of low-income uninsured children. Following SCHIP, uninsurance has been reduced from 23.3 percent to 17.5 percent for children with incomes between 100 and 200 percent of poverty. For poor children, the uninsurance rate stagnated at 27 percent. Some challenges lie ahead for the program. SCHIP funds have been plentiful to date, but may run short over the next several years. Closing the remaining coverage gaps for children will require a number of Medicaid and SCHIP policy changes, including increasing enrollment efforts and extending eligibility to immigrant children. [View press release]

This two-part slide show summarizes research from The Urban Institute's SCHIP evaluation. Slides from the quantitative analysis include a chart or table with a short review of what the data shows. Topics covered are Medicaid and SCHIP eligibility, equalizing coverage across states, participation rates, knowledge of SCHIP and Medicaid rules, why parents don't enroll their children, and trends in uninsurance. The second part of the slide show reviews how states structured their SCHIP programs on outreach, enrollment and retention, benefit package, cost sharing, crowd out, coverage of parents, and children with special health care needs.

The authors review what little is known about the threat of AIDS in developing countries, identify the cost-effectiveness questions that must be asked if the available resources are not to be wasted, and make recommendations about the kinds of information-gathering and analysis that must be undertaken.

The authors review what little is known about the threat of AIDS in developing countries, identify the cost-effectiveness questions that must be asked if the available resources are not to be wasted, and make recommendations about the kinds of information-gathering and analysis that must be undertaken.