Insurance gaps harm kids, study says

July 28, 2005



BY ALICIA CHANG

ASSOCIATE PRESS



For every child who lacks health insurance, another has gaps in coverage and is just as likely to miss out on seeing a doctor or getting a prescription refilled, a new study of federal data suggests.





The research also reveals some surprises: About four of five children with insurance coverage gaps have parents who work, two-thirds of them live with both parents, and more than half are white.





The researchers analyzed data from a national health survey in 2000 and 2001. They estimated that almost 7% of children were uninsured, but another 8% lacked coverage for part of the year.





"There is an oversimplified view of what is uninsured," said Lynn Olson of the American Academy of Pediatrics, who led the study.





"We should be measuring who is uninsured in multiple ways in order to understand what the true burden is."





The researchers found that the children with intermittent coverage were more likely to postpone medical care than uninsured kids.





For example, 20% of children who were uninsured for part of the year delayed getting medical attention because parents worried about cost compared to 16% without insurance.





Results appear today in the New England Journal of Medicine. Among the study's findings:





•About 58% of children with coverage gaps were white, while 46% of those with no insurance were Hispanic.





•82% of kids with coverage gaps lived with at least one working parent, and 61% lived with both parents.





•13% of children who were insured only part of the time missed doctor appointments and 10% did not get prescriptions refilled because of the cost -- percentages virtually equal to those for uninsured children.