Research by Author & Topic

Publications by Genevieve M. Kenney on Other Data

Data from the third round of the National Survey of America's Families show that between 1999 and 2002, the number of uninsured children under age 19 fell from 9.6 to 7.8 million. The uninsurance rate among low-income children declined by nearly six percentage points. Regardless of family income, uninsurance rates among black and Hispanic children declined by more than four percentage points each. Receipt of well-child care, office visits, and dental care by low-income children increased by 3.5 percentage points, 4.5 percentage points, and 2.1 percentage points respectively. More than 4 million uninsured children appear eligible for Medicaid or SCHIP.

Data from the third round of the National Survey of America's Families show that between 1999 and 2002, the share of low-income uninsured children whose parents had heard of their state's separate SCHIP program increased from 47.2 to 70.6 percent. Among families familiar with Medicaid or SCHIP, 81.7 percent of low-income uninsured children had parents who said they would enroll their child if told the child was eligible.

This Snapshot uses data from the National Survey of America's Families (NSAF) to describe insurance coverage for children ages 18 and under in 1999 and how coverage changed between 1997 and 1999.

A large number of children in the United States lack health insurance and may therefore have difficulty obtaining the health care services they need. The State Children's Health Insurance Program (CHIP), enacted in 1997 in response to concerns about this situation, gives grants to states to initiate and expand health insurance programs for children in low-income families. To examine health insurance coverage of children immediately prior to the implementation of CHIP, parents were asked a series of questions about their family's health insurance coverage at the time of the survey, including whether it was private or public.