Insured parents can't always cover kids

It's a grueling decision when a working parent looks at the company's benefit package and sees that, on average, a family health insurance plan, costing a total $12,106, will mean $3,281 deducted from yearly wages. Another option for that worker is to insure only himself or herself, costing a total of $4,479 for individual coverage, and resulting in a yearly paycheck deduction of $694. Those average cost figures are from a Kaiser Family Foundation September survey.

A study released today by the Journal of the American Medical Assn. found that, of the 9 million children and adolescents in the U.S. who have no health insurance coverage, 28% have an insured parent.

Since the 1996 passage of a law aimed at getting more kids insured, even when their parents are not, the number of insured children has increased. A 2007 Los Angeles Times story examined the State Children's Health Insurance Program. Still, 9 million U.S. children have no health insurance.

Now, researchers from Oregon Health and Science University examined the flip side of the issue: children who have at least one insured parent, but remain uninsured themselves. It turns out that more than a quarter of children who have no coverage have a parent who is covered, and the authors put the blame on the high cost of premiums for family coverage.

Researchers from the Portland university examined records of more than 39,000 young people under age 19 and found that nearly 1,400 were uninsured. Of those without coverage, 28% had an insured parent. 

“When weighted, these estimates represent 3 million children who had a coverage gap despite having at least 1 parent who had full-year coverage. More than a million of these children were without coverage for the entire year,” the researchers write. "In this study, the private system did not do a good job of providing coverage for entire families.”

It's clear from the study that when it comes time to sign up for employer benefits, or individual health insurance, some people have to make the difficult decision to leave some family members out.

-- Susan Brink

Comments

[sir jorge]

It is irresponsible for a parent to be insured and not a child. The parent should be selfless!

[Deirdre Ross]

America. Are our citizens so expendable that we need not ensure the good health of the next generation of tax-payers!? I can attest to the fact that producing children is a huge endeavor, physically and economically, in addition to the overwhelming emotional burden (joy). It is in everyone's interest that our offspring are healthy and strong. Nations are built on the backs of its people.

[Julia]

How do they know they CAN'T. I think most of these parents have decided it's cheaper to pay out of pocket for their kids health insurance than the monthly premiums would be. They are willing to take a chance that their kids won't get a serious illness or injury that would wipe them out. Meantime, they can put food on the table.

This is a thought out decision parents have made, and it show how out of touch the insurance industry is. If they offered vastly lower rates for children more people would insure their kids.

So called 'family plans' are a rip off. It's more logical to take the risk.

[Kathy]

Perhaps some of these parents, and I use the term loosely in this regard, can pay for their children's coverage but choose not to as they know a trip to the local ER won't be denied.

[American Medical Association President Nancy Nielsen, M.D., PhD]

I can’t think of a more heartbreaking casualty in the uninsured crisis than a child, and right now millions of American children are without health care coverage. Our current system must be reformed so all children can access necessary regular and preventive care to stay healthy.

The State Children's Health Insurance Program (S-CHIP) is a successful program, but more must be done to assure every child has health care coverage. The AMA’s Voice for the Uninsured campaign includes a proposal that builds on the strength of the current system and centers on providing more choice to families, providing low-income Americans with the means to purchase coverage using tax credits or vouchers, and establishing fair insurance rules.

We can’t ignore millions of children without access to doctors when they’re sick or access to the necessary vaccines to prevent disease. Being uninsured is a curable condition. Share your voice and find out more about the AMA proposal at www.voicefortheuninsured.org.