Subtitle
Why Aren't They Enrolled in Public Health Insurance Programs?
Display Date
Using the 2001 National Survey of Children With Special Health Care Needs, the authors find that many low-income parents with uninsured children with special health care needs do not have full information about Medicaid and State Children's Health Insurance programs (SCHIP) or have concerns about the application processes. Although 93.5% of these children's parents had heard of at least 1 of the 2 programs, only 54.6% believed that their child was eligible for public coverage, and just 48.1% believed that the application processes were easy. Initiatives to increase enrollment should yield real dividends given that the vast majority of low-income uninsured children with special health care needs have parents who say they would enroll their children in public coverage.