Access to care for poor children. Separate and unequal?
OBJECTIVE
To determine how coverage by Medicaid affects the use of preventive care, as well as the location and continuity of care for poor children.


METHODS
Analysis of the 1988 National Health Interview Survey on Child Health.


METHODS
Nationally representative sample of the US noninstitutionalized, civilian population.


METHODS
A total of 17,710 children under 18 years of age selected in a stratified cluster sampling of US households.


METHODS
None.


METHODS
The percentage of children with a usual source of routine care; the timeliness of visits for routine care; the usual source where routine care is received; and the continuity between sources of care.


RESULTS
Poor children with Medicaid coverage were more likely than those without Medicaid to have a usual source of routine care (91% vs 78%, P less than .001) and to receive routine care within an appropriate time interval (84% vs 69%, P less than .001). However, poor children with Medicaid were less likely than children living above the poverty line to receive routine care in physicians' offices (56% vs 82%, P less than .001) and more likely to lack continuity between usual sources of routine and sick care (18% vs 6%, P less than .001). Children receiving routine care at community clinics compared with children receiving care at physicians' offices were more likely to receive sick care at a different location than where they receive routine care (40% vs 4%, P less than .001) and also more likely to identify an emergency department as their usual source of sick care (9% vs 2%, P less than .001).


CONCLUSIONS
While Medicaid does improve access to care for poor children, it does not ensure them access to the same locations and continuity of care as that available to other children. Recent changes in the Medicaid program may address some of these inequities, but others are likely to remain.
St Peter
R F
RF
Robert Wood Johnson Clinical Scholars Program, University of California, San Francisco 94143-0903.
Newacheck
P W
PW
Halfon
N
N
D000293:Adolescent; D002648:Child; D003266:Continuity of Patient Care / Q000706:statistics & numerical data; D003430:Cross-Sectional Studies; D004608:Eligibility Determination; D035082:Federal Government; D006297:Health Services Accessibility / Q000191:economics / Q000706:statistics & numerical data*; D006801:Humans; D008484:Medicaid / Q000191:economics; D033242:Minors; D010372:Pediatrics / Q000191:economics / Q000706:statistics & numerical data*; D011203:Poverty / Q000706:statistics & numerical data*; D012494:Sampling Studies; D014481:United States / Q000453:epidemiology