Intra-Family Differences in Health Insurance Coverage

Laura F. Blumenthal, U.S. Census Bureau
Brett O'Hara, U.S. Census Bureau

This national and state-level analysis uses the 2009 American Community Survey to estimate within-family differences in health insurance coverage status and the type of coverage. Our analysis focuses on the socioeconomic characteristics of children covered by Medicaid or other means-tested public coverage whose parents are uninsured or privately covered. Findings are consistent with the relevant literature. Generally, differences and/or disparities in states' Medicaid and Children's Health Insurance Program (CHIP) eligibility policies for parents and children correlate with above-average levels of children covered by public insurance programs whose parents have no public coverage. In only a few cases did our crowd-out measure identify states with a potential propensity for child crowd-out.

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Presented in Session 168: Policy and Child Well-Being