America's Children

America's Children is a comprehensive, easy-to-read analysis of the relationship between health insurance and access to care. The book addresses three broad questions: How is children's health care currently financed? Does insurance equal access to care? How should the nation address the health needs of this vulnerable population?

America's Children explores the changing role of Medicaid under managed care; state-initiated and private sector children's insurance programs; specific effects of insurance status on the care children receive; and the impact of chronic medical conditions and special health care needs. It also examines the status of "safety net" health providers, including community health centers, children's hospitals, school-based health centers, and others and reviews the changing patterns of coverage and tax policy options to increase coverage of private-sector, employer-based health insurance.

In response to growing public concerns about uninsured children, last year Congress voted to provide $24 billion over five years for new state insurance initiatives. This volume will serve as a primer for concerned federal policymakers and regulators, state agency officials, health plan decisionmakers, health care providers, children's health advocates, and researchers.

• Front Matter
• Summary
• 1 Introduction and Overview
• 2 Health Insurance and Children in America
• 3 Health Insurance and Access to Care
• 4 Safety Net Providers
• 5 Medicaid
• 6 State and Private Insurance Initiatives
• 7 Children's Health Care Needs
• Appendix A Market-Based Approaches to Insurance Reform
• Appendix B Information for Accountability
• Appendix C Public Workshop Agenda and Participants
• Appendix D Members of Liaison Panel
• Appendix E Committee and Staff Biographies
• Index