tailieunhanh - THE ECONOMIC IMPACT OF UNINSURED CHILDREN ON AMERICA

This is the 14th annual Report Card, and we hope it will once again encourage everyone concerned about young North Carolinians to see the big picture and rededicate their efforts to improving the health and safety of the children whose lives they affect. Statewide data are presented for the most current year available (usually 2007) with a comparative year (usually 2002) as a benchmark. Unless otherwise noted, data are presented for calendar years. The specific indicators were chosen not only because they are important, but also because data are available. In time, we hope expanded data systems will. | ISSN 1941-6466 Baker Institute Policy Report Published by the James a. Baker Ill Institute for Public Policy of Rice University number 40 JUNE 2009 The Economic Impact of Uninsured Children on America America unlike most other developed countries does not provide universal health insurance coverage for its population. We reviewed the medical and social science literature to examine the evidence regarding the economic impact of failing to insure all children in the United States. We defined economic consequences broadly to obtain the most comprehensive picture of how children s health insurance affects the country s current and future well-being. We relied mostly on studies published in peer-reviewed journals to increase our confidence that the analyses had undergone critical review by informed experts. Studies published by the Institute of Medicine which undergo independent review in accordance with National Research Council procedures were also analyzed. In some cases we refer to studies that were not published in peer-reviewed journals but contain detailed analyses of data that we had not seen elsewhere. We summarize our main conclusions below Health care expenditures for uninsured children are 47 lower than for insured children. Uninsured children are more likely to have gone without needed medical dental or other health care and they are more likely to rely on the emergency room as their usual source of care. Studies indicate that lack of health insurance coverage for children leads to poorer health in childhood greater rates of avoidable hospitalizations and higher childhood mortality. While no studies have examined the association between childhood health insurance status and adult outcomes better health in childhood has been linked in adulthood to higher incomes higher wealth more weeks worked and a higher growth rate in income. Given that the earnings differential in adulthood between healthy versus unhealthy childhood siblings can be as much as 24 the .