Public: Government should provide more kids' coverage

Bills to extend and expand funding for programs have gotten little attention from lawmakers.

By Joel B. Finkelstein, AMNews staff. Oct. 4, 2004.

Washington -- Congressional inaction, state government cutbacks and steep declines in private coverage have conspired to keep nearly 8 million children uninsured, according to experts' analyses of recent trends.

Eighty-four percent of Americans say it is the responsibility of federal and state governments to ensure adequate funding for the health care needs of all children, according to an online report published in September by Health Affairs.

But 59% of respondents also say they think the health care needs of children are not being met. Many people aren't even aware that children are relatively inexpensive to provide coverage for compared with seniors, the report showed.

"The fact is that most uninsured children are eligible for free and low-cost coverage under programs such as Medicaid and the State Children's Health Insurance Program," AMA President John C. Nelson, MD, MPH, said in a statement about the Association's support for the Covering Kids & Families campaign. "Unfortunately, many parents do not have the right information to complete the enrollment process, and some assume that their children will not qualify for the programs."

Due to the constant turnover in the SCHIP population, local outreach efforts are essential to maintaining the program's enrollment levels, said Vernon K. Smith, PhD, principal with Health Management Associates, a national health care research and consulting company. Those efforts also have unfortunately been one of the first casualties of state budget cuts.