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

The Los Angeles Healthy Kids program was created in 2003 to provide health insurance to uninsured children ages 0–5 years in families with household income below 300 percent of the federal poverty level (FPL) who are ineligible for SCHIP or Medicaid. A quality of care survey sampled parents of 538 children ages 12–72 months enrolled in the program for at least one year. Results show that quality of preventive care for children in Healthy Kids has similar patterns as care for children in low-income households, both in California and nationally. Content of preventive care is well below American Academy of Pediatrics (AAP) recommendations, although it is consistent with statewide and national levels of care.

This report summarizes the findings from a survey of parents of Healthy Kids enrollees aged 1 to 5 in Los Angeles County. The Los Angeles Healthy Kids program was implemented in July 2003 and provides insurance coverage to low income, uninsured children, who are ineligible for Medi-Cal or Healthy Families. This report is one of a series evaluating the Healthy Kids program in L.A. and analyses the demographic characteristics of enrolled children, their health status, health care access and use experiences, parental impressions of the enrollment and renewal processes, among other topics. One year from now, a second survey report will provide results from the longitudinal follow-up with the same parents and will assess the impact of the Healthy Kids program in L.A.

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