The Medicaid program is a central component of health care for children in the United States. Although children's eligibility for Medicaid has expanded significantly over the last decade, there are not uniform eligibility criteria across the states. Some states provide limited Medicaid benefits to a narrow spectrum of their population, while others provide generous Medicaid benefits to a larger share of their population As a result, the ability of otherwise similar Medicaid recipients to obtain care may well depend on the state in which they live. In this paper, we use the 1997 National Survey of America's Families to examine differences in access and use by children on Medicaid across 13 states, and compare those differences to national estimates of access and use. We find significant differences across the states in access to and use of health care services by children on Medicaid. While some of the differences are due to variation in the health needs and circumstances of the children and their local health care environment, many of the differences persist. In particular, we find evidence that children on Medicaid in states with more generous programs (e.g., Massachusetts, New York, and Washington) tend to have better access to and higher use of health care services, while access and use for children on Medicaid in less generous states (e.g., Alabama, California, and Mississippi) tends to be lower.
Learning Objectives: This paper documents differences in the Medicaid program across the states and analyzes the relationship between those program differences and access and use by children on Medicaid
Keywords: Access and Services, Medicaid
Presenting author's disclosure statement:
Organization/institution whose products or services will be discussed: State Medicaid programs
I do not have any significant financial interest/arrangement or affiliation with any organization/institution whose products or services are being discussed in this session.