title: State Medicaid spending and financial burden of families raising children with autism.
abstract: We examined the association between state Medicaid spending for children with disabilities and the financial burden reported by families of children with autism. Child and family data were from the 2005-2006 National Survey of Children with Special Health Care Needs (n  =  2,011 insured children with autism). State characteristics were from public sources. The 4 outcomes included any out-of-pocket health care expenditures during the past year, expenditure amount, expenditures as a proportion of family income, and whether additional income was needed to care for a child. We modeled the association between state per capita Medicaid spending for children with disabilities and families' financial burden, controlling for child, family, and state characteristics. Overall, 78% of families raising children with autism had health care expenditures for their child for the prior 12 months; 42% reported expenditures over $500, with 34% spending over 3% of their income. Families living in states with higher per capita Medicaid spending for children with disabilities were significantly less likely to report financial burden. There is a robust relationship between state Medicaid spending for children with disabilities and the financial burdens incurred by families raising children with autism.
authors.affiliation: Lurie Institute for Disability Policy, Heller School for Social Policy and Management, Brandeis University, 415 South Street, MS 035, Waltham, MA 02454, USA. slp@Brandeis.edu
authors.forename: Susan L
authors.initials: SL
authors.lastname: Parish
authors.forename: Kathleen C
authors.initials: KC
authors.lastname: Thomas
authors.forename: Roderick
authors.initials: R
authors.lastname: Rose
authors.forename: Mona
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Kilany
authors.forename: Paul T
authors.initials: PT
authors.lastname: Shattuck
mesh_terms: D001321:Autistic Disorder / Q000191:economics*; D002648:Child; D017281:Cost of Illness; D019988:Children with Disabilities; D005190:Family; D005260:Female; D005102:Health Expenditures; D006301:Health Services Needs and Demand / Q000191:economics*; D006801:Humans; D007348:Insurance, Health / Q000191:economics; D008297:Male; D008484:Medicaid / Q000191:economics*; D014481:United States