title: How stable is medicaid coverage for children?
abstract: We examined Medicaid coverage patterns in five states for children who were covered as of December 2003. Looking back three years, we found that Medicaid was a source of continuous coverage for sizable proportions of children (43-66 percent were covered for two or more years) but a revolving door for others (16-41 percent had gaps). In all states, gaps were short, from two to four months. Continuity implies that states can demand more of the health care system to improve the quality of care; short gaps imply that policies and procedures should be revisited to reduce gaps for eligible children.
authors.affiliation: Cincinnati Children's Hospital Medical Center, Health Policy and Clinical Effectiveness, Cincinnati, Ohio, USA. gerry.fairbrother@cchmc.org
authors.forename: Gerry Lynn
authors.initials: GL
authors.lastname: Fairbrother
authors.forename: Heidi Park
authors.initials: HP
authors.lastname: Emerson
authors.forename: Lee
authors.initials: L
authors.lastname: Partridge
mesh_terms: D000293:Adolescent; D002648:Child; D002662:Child Health Services / Q000191:economics* / Q000639:trends; D002669:Child Welfare / Q000191:economics*; D002675:Child, Preschool; D004608:Eligibility Determination; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D019458:Insurance Coverage / Q000706:statistics & numerical data*; D008297:Male; D008484:Medicaid / Q000191:economics* / Q000639:trends; D020380:Needs Assessment; D011050:Policy Making; D012189:Retrospective Studies; D012307:Risk Factors; D012959:Socioeconomic Factors; D013221:State Health Plans / Q000191:economics* / Q000639:trends; D013997:Time Factors; D014481:United States