Back to Annual Meeting Page		American Public Health Association 133rd Annual Meeting & Exposition December 10-14, 2005 Philadelphia, PA

Abstract #120555

Christopher Trenholm, Mathematica Policy Research, Inc., PO Box 2393, Princeton, NJ 08543-2393, 609 936-2796, ctrenholm@mathematica-mpr.com, Embry Howell, MSPH, PhD, Health Policy Center, The Urban Institute, 2100 M St., N.W., Washington, DC 20037, and Dana Hughes, DrPH, Institute for Health Policy Studies, University of California at San Francisco, 3333 California Street, San Francisco, CA 94143.

This study investigates the impact of the Healthy Kids program of Santa Clara County, California on the medical and dental care of children who participate. Launched in January 2001, Healthy Kids provides health insurance coverage to children in the county with household income below 300 percent of the federal poverty line (FPL) who are ineligible for the two major state insurance programs, Medi-Cal and Healthy Families. Most often, these children are ineligible because of an undocumented immigration status. Findings indicate that Healthy Kids dramatically improved the medical care that participating children receive, including large gains in access to, and use of, care and sizable reductions in unmet need. The program also substantially improved dental access, including increased visits for preventive dental care and dental treatments. These findings have important implications across the state, and nationwide, as nearly 30 counties are planning to implement similar programs and efforts are underway to fund the Healthy Kids program throughout the state.

Learning Objectives:

• Increase participants understanding of th effects of local health expansion programs on access to health care services

Keywords: Access and Services,

Presenting author's disclosure statement:

I wish to disclose that I have NO financial interests or other relationship with the manufactures of commercial products, suppliers of commercial services or commercial supporters.

Recorded presentation