Health Affairs, doi: 10.1377/hlthaff.26.5.w560 (Published online July 26, 2007) © 2007 by Project HOPE	New Online   McAllen, TX & Beyond: An Expert Roundtable   Geography & Reform   Medicaid or Insurance Exchange?   Siren Song of New GME   Public Plan Option: Pro & Con

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Why Millions Of Children Eligible For Medicaid And SCHIP Are Uninsured: Poor Retention Versus Poor Take-Up

¹ Benjamin Sommers is a resident in internal medicine and primary care at Brigham and Women's Hospital in Boston, Massachusetts.

^*Corresponding author.

Abstract

More than two-thirds of uninsured U.S. children are eligible for public coverage, and most current policy debate assumes that this is largely attributable to poor take-up. This paper explores the contribution of poor retention in Medicaid and the State Children's Health Insurance Program (SCHIP) to this phenomenon. The results indicate that one-third of all uninsured children in 2006 had been enrolled in Medicaid or SCHIP the previous year. Among those uninsured but eligible for public coverage in 2006, at least 42 percent had been enrolled in Medicaid or SCHIP the previous year. Both of these measures of disenrollment have increased since 2000. [Health Affairs 26, no. 5 (2007): w560-w567 (published online 26 July 2007; 10.1377/hlthaff.26.5.w560)]

Key Words: Access To Care, Business Of Health, Consumer Issues, Health Reform, Insurance Coverage - Children , Maternal And Child Health, Medicaid, State/Local Issues, Health Spending

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