Employment transitions and continuity of health insurance: implications for premium assistance programs.
We use data from two nationwide panel surveys to explore whether premium assistance programs can provide stable insurance for low-income children. We estimate that low-income children who are newly enrolled in an employer-group plan would keep that coverage longer than similar children keep newly acquired public insurance. We conclude that group coverage could provide a source of insurance for eligible low-income children that is more stable than public insurance. However, only one-third of low-income uninsured children have access to group insurance, and most low-income children with access to a group plan are enrolled in it. Thus, premium assistance programs are difficult to target effectively, and other programs are necessary to reach the majority of uninsured children.
D002648:Child; D002662:Child Health Services / Q000191:economics*; D004608:Eligibility Determination; D004651:Employment / Q000191:economics / Q000639:trends*; D006264:Health Benefit Plans, Employee / Q000191:economics*; D006291:Health Policy; D006801:Humans; D008483:Medical Assistance; D017057:Medically Uninsured; D010563:Personnel Turnover; D011203:Poverty; D013221:State Health Plans; D013997:Time Factors; D014481:United States