A Third Of US Kids Lack Consistent, Good Health Insurance, Study Finds – InsuranceNewsNet

InsuranceNewsNet — Your Industry. One Source.™

Sign in
  • Subscribe
  • About
  • Advertise
  • Contact
Home Now reading Top Stories
Topics
    • Life Insurance
    • Annuity News
    • Health/Employee Benefits
    • Property and Casualty
    • Advisor News
    • Washington Wire
    • Regulation News
    • Sponsored Content
    • Webinars
    • Monthly Focus
  • INN Exclusives
  • NewsWires
  • Magazine
  • Free Newsletters
Sign in or register to be an INNsider.
  • INN Exclusives
  • NewsWires
  • Magazine
  • Free Newsletters
  • Insider
  • About
  • Advertise
  • Editorial Staff
  • Contact
  • Newsletters

Get Social

  • Facebook
  • Twitter
  • LinkedIn
Health/Employee Benefits News
Top Stories RSS Get our newsletter
Order Prints
December 22, 2021 Top Stories No comments
Share
Share
Tweet
Email

A Third Of US Kids Lack Consistent, Good Health Insurance, Study Finds

Children are still not getting good health care despite the ACA options.
Hospital & Nursing Home Daily
In a concerning trend for the health of U.S. children, the rate of underinsured youngsters rose from 30.6% to 34% -- an additional 2.4 million kids -- from 2016 to 2019, according to an analysis led by University of Pittsburgh School of Medicine researchers.In the study, published in Pediatrics, the researchers found that underinsurance of children was mainly driven by increased rates of inadequate insurance rather than a rise in absent or inconsistent insurance. Notably, they found families who have children with special health care needs and private insurance were hit particularly hard.

“The main takeaway is that the insurance landscape is getting bleaker, and it’s hurting millions of families, specifically those who are the most vulnerable,” said Justin Yu, M.D., lead author of the study and assistant professor of pediatrics in Pitt’s School of Medicine. “We need pediatric organizations and politicians to bring child health insurance to the forefront and make it a priority issue.”

To understand pediatric insurance trends, Yu and his team analyzed data from the National Survey of Children’s Health, an annual survey about the physical and mental health of newborns through 17-year-olds.

They defined underinsured children as those who lack continuous and adequate health insurance, with “adequate” meaning that insurance usually or always met a child’s needs, allowed children to see needed providers and protected against what parents felt were unreasonable out-of-pocket expenses.

The increase in underinsured children was driven by rising insurance inadequacy, mainly experienced as high out-of-pocket expenses for health services. According to the researchers, this is concerning because high fees may force families to delay or forgo care for their child.

“Access to health care helps children be as healthy as possible so they can live full and complete lives,” said senior author Amy Houtrow, M.D., Ph.D., M.P.H., professor and vice chair of physical medicine and rehabilitation and pediatrics in Pitt’s School of Medicine, and chief of pediatric rehabilitation medicine services at UPMC Children’s Hospital of Pittsburgh. “I don’t believe that any family should have to choose between paying for medical care for their child or putting food on the table or paying their electric bills.”

The researchers suspect that the rise in unreasonable out-of-pocket expenses reflect broad trends in the insurance landscape: Insurers are increasingly transferring costs to individuals and families through higher copays and premiums and, increasingly, through high-deductible plans.

These trends may help explain the finding that children with private health insurance were more likely to be underinsured than those on public plans, such as Medicaid or Children’s Health Insurance Program (CHIP).

Another notable finding was an increase in the rate of underinsurance in kids considered to be more socioeconomically advantaged: white children from middle-income, highly educated families.

“We have this idea that if you have a full-time job with health insurance from your employer that your health care needs will be met,” said Houtrow. “But our data show that, increasingly, that’s not the case, especially for families who may be enrolled in lower premium, high-deductible plans.”

The researchers also examined underinsurance rates in children with chronic health conditions. They found that kids with more complex special health care needs were more likely to be underinsured than those with less complex or no special health needs.

“This is worrisome because, by definition, these children need the most health care,” said Yu.

According to the researchers, tackling the problem of child underinsurance may require large-scale policy reforms such as broadening eligibility for Medicaid or creating a universal health insurance program for all U.S. kids. But smaller policy changes-such as making it easier to apply for and stay on Medicaid or cash assistance programs to help cover out-of-pocket expenses-also could help.

“Rather than providing a clear policy prescription, the goal of this study is to bring the issue of child underinsurance to the forefront of national conversation,” said Yu. “Once people are talking about this issue, we can start thinking about policies to address it.”

“We know there are many possible paths to improving the adequacy of health insurance coverage for children, and this study tells us that the time is now to move forward on that journey,” added Houtrow.

Other authors on the study were James Perrin, M.D., Harvard Medical School and Massachusetts General Hospital for Children, and Thomas Hagerman, M.D., Henry Ford Health System.

Older

Reliance Global Group Announces Definitive Agreement to Acquire Medigap Health Insurance Company

Newer

Ariel Re Successfully Re-enters the Catastrophe Bond Market

Advisor News

  • Fidelity: retirement savers look long term, continue to save despite headwinds
  • Sometimes debt could be a helpful tool
  • Debt consolidation becomes more attractive
  • 31% of retirees say continued inflation would motivate them to rejoin the workforce
  • Inflation Reduction Act may have little impact on inflation
More Advisor News

Annuity News

  • Global Atlantic announces $10B group annuity reinsurance deal with Equitable
  • Colorado adopts new annuity sales regulations
  • National Western Life introduces new fixed indexed annuity, NWL New Frontiers
  • Jackson National announces second quarter 2022 results
  • Brighthouse Financial adds to Shield Level annuity suite with new product
More Annuity News

Health/Employee Benefits News

  • America’s Essential Hospitals praise new law, urge more funding
  • Retired teachers oppose $9M in STRS Ohio pension staff bonuses
  • Higher out-of-pocket patient bills are hitting hospitals hard
  • Best’s Commentary: Inflation Reduction Act will benefit U.S. health insurers
  • Virginia Obamacare rates set to fall next year
More Health/Employee Benefits News

Life Insurance

  • Sammons names Tyler Brown new government affairs director
  • Alex Murdaugh petitions to delay Mallory Beach trial amid murder charges
  • Sales of life combination products rebound in 2021, LIMRA reports
  • Integrity Marketing Group acquires Richman Insurance Agency
  • How to get the most out of Life Insurance Awareness Month
More Life Insurance

- Presented By -

How to Write For InsuranceNewsNet

Find out how you can submit content for publishing on our website.
View Guidelines

FEATURED OFFERS

Get Linked INN to your industry Connect with INN on LinkedIn to be first on all the news and insights that matter to your industry.

Press ReleasesAll press releases

  • Ibexis Life & Annuity Insurance Company Launches Innovative Fixed Annuity
  • National Western Life introduces newest fixed indexed annuity, NWL® New Frontiers
  • CybeReady Supports Security Defenses with CISO Toolkit
  • Life and Disability Income Insurance Products from MassMutual Now Available on iPipeline®’s End-to-End Digital Platform
  • Business on the Go with The Crump Mobile App
Add your Press Release >

Topics

  • Life Insurance
  • Annuity News
  • Health/Employee Benefits
  • Property and Casualty
  • Advisor News
  • Washington Wire
  • Regulation News
  • Sponsored Content
  • Webinars
  • Monthly Focus

Top Sections

  • Life Insurance
  • Annuity News
  • Health/Employee Benefits News
  • Property and Casualty News
  • AdvisorNews
  • Washington Wire
  • Insurance Webinars

Our Company

  • About
  • Editorial Staff
  • Magazine
  • Write for INN
  • Advertise
  • Contact

Sign up for our FREE e-Newsletter!

Get breaking news, exclusive stories, and money- making insights straight into your inbox.

select Newsletter Options
Facebook Linkedin Twitter
© 2022 InsuranceNewsNet.com, Inc. All rights reserved.
  • Terms & Conditions
  • Privacy Policy
  • AdvisorNews

Sign in with your INNsider Account

Not registered? Become an INNsider.