title: Quality of Health Insurance Coverage and Access to Care for Children in Low-Income Families.
abstract: OBJECTIVE
  An increasing diversity of children's health coverage options under the US Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act, together with uncertainty regarding reauthorization of the Children's Health Insurance Program (CHIP) beyond 2017, merits renewed attention on the quality of these options for children.
  
  
  OBJECTIVE
  To compare health care access, quality, and cost outcomes by insurance type (Medicaid, CHIP, private, and uninsured) for children in households with low to moderate incomes.
  
  
  METHODS
  A repeated cross-sectional analysis was conducted using data from the 2003, 2007, and 2011-2012 US National Surveys of Children's Health, comprising 80,655 children 17 years or younger, weighted to 67 million children nationally, with household incomes between 100% and 300% of the federal poverty level. Multivariable logistic regression models compared caregiver-reported outcomes across insurance types. Analysis was conducted between July 14, 2014, and May 6, 2015.
  
  
  METHODS
  Insurance type was ascertained using a caregiver-reported measure of insurance status and each household's poverty status (percentage of the federal poverty level).
  
  
  METHODS
  Caregiver-reported outcomes related to access to primary and specialty care, unmet needs, out-of-pocket costs, care coordination, and satisfaction with care.
  
  
  RESULTS
  Among the 80,655 children, 51,123 (57.3%) had private insurance, 11,853 (13.6%) had Medicaid, 9554 (18.4%) had CHIP, and 8125 (10.8%) were uninsured. In a multivariable logistic regression model (with results reported as adjusted probabilities [95% CIs]), children insured by Medicaid and CHIP were significantly more likely to receive a preventive medical (Medicaid, 88% [86%-89%]; P < .01; CHIP, 88% [87%-89%]; P < .01) and dental (Medicaid, 80% [78%-81%]; P < .01; CHIP, 77% [76%-79%]; P < .01) visits than were privately insured children (medical, 83% [82%-84%]; dental, 73% [72%-74%]). Children with all insurance types experienced challenges in access to specialty care, with caregivers of children insured by CHIP reporting the highest rates of difficulty accessing specialty care (28% [24%-32%]), problems obtaining a referral (23% [18%-29%]), and frustration obtaining health care services (26% [23%-28%]). These challenges were also magnified for privately insured children with special health care needs, whose caregivers reported significantly greater problems accessing specialty care (29% [26%-33%]) and frustration obtaining health care services (36% [32%-41%]) than did caregivers of children insured by Medicaid, and a lower likelihood of insurance always meeting the child's needs (63% [60%-67%]) than children insured by Medicaid or CHIP. Caregivers of privately insured children were also significantly more likely to experience out-of-pocket costs (77% [75%-78%]) than were caregivers of children insured by Medicaid (26% [23%-28%]; P < .01) or CHIP (38% [35%-40%]; P < .01).
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  This examination of caregiver experiences across insurance types revealed important differences that can help guide future policymaking regarding coverage for families with low to moderate incomes.
authors.affiliation: PolicyLab, The Children's Hospital of Philadelphia, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania.
authors.forename: Amanda R
authors.initials: AR
authors.lastname: Kreider
authors.affiliation: Department of Biostatistics and Epidemiology, Perelman School of Medicine at the University of Pennsylvania, Philadelphia3Leonard Davis Institute of Health Economics, University of Pennsylvania, Philadelphia.
authors.forename: Benjamin
authors.initials: B
authors.lastname: French
authors.affiliation: Leonard Davis Institute of Health Economics, University of Pennsylvania, Philadelphia4Division of General Internal Medicine, Department of Medicine, Perelman School of Medicine at the University of Pennsylvania, Philadelphia5Division of General Pediatrics.
authors.forename: Jaya
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Aysola
authors.affiliation: Department of Health Policy and Management, Bloomberg School of Public Health at Johns Hopkins University, Baltimore, Maryland7Department of Mental Health, Bloomberg School of Public Health at Johns Hopkins University, Baltimore, Maryland8Institute for He.
authors.forename: Brendan
authors.initials: B
authors.lastname: Saloner
authors.affiliation: PolicyLab, The Children's Hospital of Philadelphia, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania5Division of General Pediatrics, The Children's Hospital of Philadelphia, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania9Master of Public Health Program, University of Pennsylvania, Philadelphia.
authors.forename: Kathleen G
authors.initials: KG
authors.lastname: Noonan
authors.affiliation: PolicyLab, The Children's Hospital of Philadelphia, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania5Division of General Pediatrics, The Children's Hospital of Philadelphia, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania10Department of Pediatrics, Perelman School of Medicine at the University of.
authors.forename: David M
authors.initials: DM
authors.lastname: Rubin
mesh_terms: D000293:Adolescent; D017028:Caregivers; D002648:Child; D002675:Child, Preschool; D003430:Cross-Sectional Studies; D005260:Female; D006297:Health Services Accessibility / Q000191:economics*; D006801:Humans; D007223:Infant; D019458:Insurance Coverage; D007348:Insurance, Health; D016015:Logistic Models; D008297:Male; D008484:Medicaid; D017057:Medically Uninsured; D058991:Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act; D011203:Poverty; D011787:Quality of Health Care / Q000191:economics*; D012959:Socioeconomic Factors; D011795:Surveys and Questionnaires; D014481:United States