Barriers to enrollment in a state child health insurance program.
OBJECTIVE
To identify barriers to enrollment into Colorado's Child Health Insurance Plan (CHP+) for non-Hispanic (NH), Hispanic (H), and uninsured families.


METHODS
Telephone survey of 1) random samples of families who requested an application but did not complete it (N = 273 NH, N = 159 H) and 2) families with uninsured children identified by random-digit-dial statewide surveys (N = 165).


RESULTS
Major reasons for not enrolling included 1) got other insurance (NH 16.5%; H 27.2% P <.01), 2) thought household income was too high to qualify (NH 21.0%; H 11.9% P =.01), and 3) paperwork (NH 13.4%; H 14.7%, P = NS). Of those who thought their income was too high (N = 76, 17.6%), 58.5% appeared eligible based on reported income. Of uninsured families, only 41.7% had heard of CHP+. Of those who had never applied, major remediable reasons included not knowing enough about the program (20.9%) and thinking household income was too high (9.3%).


CONCLUSIONS
Effective marketing and education to increase awareness of CHP+ and ensure understanding of eligibility are critical to the success of the program.
Kempe
A
A
Department of Pediatrics, University of Colorado Health Sciences Center, Denver, CO, USA. kempe.allison@tchden.org
Renfrew
B L
BL
Barrow
J
J
Cherry
D
D
Jones
J S
JS
Steiner
J F
JF
D002648:Child; D002662:Child Health Services / Q000191:economics / Q000706:statistics & numerical data*; D003120:Colorado; D003258:Consumer Behavior / Q000706:statistics & numerical data*; D006297:Health Services Accessibility; D006801:Humans; D008483:Medical Assistance / Q000706:statistics & numerical data*; D017057:Medically Uninsured; D013221:State Health Plans / Q000706:statistics & numerical data*; D014481:United States