PRESS-NEWS.org - Press Release Distribution
PRESS RELEASES DISTRIBUTION

U of M researchers find children's health insurance coverage varies widely

Coverage gaps still broad; tied to age, race/ethnicity and income

2010-10-13
(Press-News.org) MINNEAPOLIS/ST.PAUL (Oct. 12, 2010) – Children's health insurance coverage still varies significantly at both the state and national levels, according to researchers at the University of Minnesota School of Public Health (SPH). In particular, researchers found gaps in coverage that vary across states by age, race/ethnicity and income.

Even states with relatively low rates of uninsured children have gaps in coverage for some groups of children, according to researchers. Conversely, some states demonstrating high rates of uninsurance have relatively low gaps or disparity between children when grouped by age, race/ethnicity and income groups.

"Although progress has been made toward reducing rates of uninsured children across the United States, there are still significant variations at both the state and national levels in children's health insurance coverage – variations we see by age, race/ethnicity and income." said Lynn Blewett, Ph.D., principal investigator of the study and principal investigator of the SPH-based, Robert Wood Johnson Foundation-funded State Health Access Data Assistance Center (SHADAC).

The impact of uninsurance can be devastating. Differences in insurance status are also associated with marked differences in access to health care, resulting in delays in necessary care in uninsured populations. Often, by the time such patients get care their sickness has already progressed to a more advanced stage. When this happens, the costs of care go up.

"Our research has found that there are still disparities – sometimes broad disparities – in health insurance coverage for older, low-income and minority children when compared to their peers," said Julie Sonier, M.P.A., lead author of the study and deputy director of SHADAC.

Across the Nation

Overall, Nevada had the highest uninsurance rate for children (21 percent) and Massachusetts had the lowest (two percent) in 2008.

When examining rates of uninsured children within states by race/ethnicity, researchers found that Rhode Island, Minnesota and Pennsylvania have relatively low uninsurance rates for children but have large gaps in insurance coverage by race/ethnicity. In contrast, states like Texas, Arizona, Florida and Nevada all have high rates of uninsured children, but have relatively low coverage gaps by race/ethnicity.

Assessing uninsurance rates by family income, researchers found that, for the U.S. as a whole, children at or below 138 percent of the poverty level are 2.7 times more likely to be uninsured than children in families with income at or above 200 percent of poverty. Although states such as Massachusetts, Wisconsin and Iowa have among the lowest rates of uninsurance for children, they have sizable gaps by income group.

In terms of gaps across age groups, children ages 12 to 17 are 35 percent more likely to be uninsured than the youngest children. Maine has a lower-than-average uninsurance rate for children (5.9 percent), but has among the largest gaps in coverage across age groups. Nevada, on the other hand, has the highest uninsurance rate and shows little variation across age groups.

"Although we've made progress in recent years toward reducing uninsurance for children, this new analysis shows that some groups of children fare better than others, and that there is significant room for improvement even in states that have low uninsurance rates for children," said Sonier.

Results in Minnesota

Analyzing data from the 2008 American Community Survey (ACS), an annual survey conducted by the U.S. Census Bureau, researchers found that despite Minnesota's relatively low uninsurance rate (6.2 percent), some groups of children are much more likely to be uninsured than others.

Hispanic children, for example, are 5 times more likely than white children to be uninsured in Minnesota. Although there is a sizeable gap in insurance coverage for Hispanic children compared to white children nationally, the size of this gap in Minnesota is nearly double what it is nationally.

"In addition, Minnesota children from low-income families are more than three times as likely to be uninsured than their peers from higher-income families. This income-related gap is larger than national averages. Because most of these uninsured low-income Minnesota children are likely eligible for public insurance coverage, it appears that this gap is less related to eligibility for coverage than it is to other factors, such as awareness of eligibility or the administrative burden of enrolling."

According to new 2009 estimates released in September by the Census Bureau, Minnesota was one of only two states nationally that experienced a significant increase in the rate of uninsurance among children.

"Minnesota has historically enjoyed a low rate of uninsurance compared to other states, but for some groups of children we don't do nearly as well," said Sonier. "We need to pay attention to these gaps and monitor progress in reducing them over time."

INFORMATION:

The new SHADAC report is available online.

END



ELSE PRESS RELEASES FROM THIS DATE:

1 step closer to a drug treatment for cystic fibrosis, MU professor says

2010-10-13
COLUMBIA, Mo. – A University of Missouri researcher believes his latest work moves scientists closer to a cure for cystic fibrosis, one of the world's most common fatal genetic diseases. The Journal of Biological Chemistry has published findings by Tzyh-Chang Hwang, a professor in the School of Medicine's Department of Medical Pharmacology and Physiology and the Dalton Cardiovascular Research Center. The publication has been recognized as the "paper of the week" for the journal, meaning Hwang's work is considered to be in the top 1 percent of papers reviewed annually ...

Gambling on bacteria

2010-10-13
When it comes to gambling, many people rely on game theory, a branch of applied mathematics that attempts to measure the choices of others to inform their own decisions. It's used in economics, politics, medicine -- and, of course, Las Vegas. But recent findings from a Tel Aviv University researcher suggest that we may put ourselves on the winning side if we look to bacteria instead. According to Prof. Eshel Ben-Jacob of Tel Aviv University's School of Physics and Astronomy, current game theory can't account for bacteria's natural decision-making abilities -- it's just ...

Medical researchers break down costs to care for heart failure patients at the end of life

2010-10-13
As the population ages, health care epidemiologist Padma Kaul and cardiologist Paul Armstrong, researchers in the Faculty of Medicine & Dentistry at the University of Alberta, want health-care professionals to talk to their patients about their options on places to die, whether it be at home, in hospital or a palliative care facility like hospice. The researchers found, in their recent study, that the majority of heart failure patients pass away in an acute care hospital and the cost is more than double for those who died elsewhere. This is the first study to examine ...

Why it's hard to crash the electric grid

Why its hard to crash the electric grid
2010-10-13
Last March, the U.S. Congress heard testimony about a scientific study in the journal Safety Science. A military analyst worried that the paper presented a model of how an attack on a small, unimportant part of the U.S. power grid might, like dominoes, bring the whole grid down. Members of Congress were, of course, concerned. Then, a similar paper came out in the journal Nature the next month that presented a model of how a cascade of failing interconnected networks led to a blackout that covered Italy in 2003. These two papers are part of a growing reliance on a particular ...

How immune response in pregnancy may lead to brain dysfunction in offspring

2010-10-13
A pregnant woman's immune response to viral infections may induce subtle neurological changes in the unborn child that can lead to an increased risk for neurodevelopmental disorders including schizophrenia and autism. Research published in the online journal mBio® provides new insights into how this may happen and suggests potential strategies for reducing this risk. "Infection during pregnancy is associated with increased risk of damage to the developing nervous system. Given that many agents have been implicated, we decided to focus on mechanisms by which the maternal ...

Researchers propose new way to classify personality disorders

Researchers propose new way to classify personality disorders
2010-10-13
EAST LANSING, Mich. — Research led by a Michigan State University psychologist is playing a key role in the effort to change the way mental health clinicians classify personality disorders. The study by Christopher Hopwood and colleagues calls for a more scientific and practical method of categorizing personality disorders – a proposal that ultimately could improve treatment, Hopwood said. "We're proposing a different way of thinking about personality and personality disorders," said Hopwood, MSU assistant professor of psychology and an experienced clinician. "There's ...

Smithsonian reports regional sea temperature rise and coral bleaching event in Western Caribbean

Smithsonian reports regional sea temperature rise and coral bleaching event in Western Caribbean
2010-10-13
The Smithsonian Tropical Research Institute's Bocas del Toro Research Station and Galeta Point Marine Laboratory are reporting an anomalous sea temperature rise and a major coral bleaching event in the western Caribbean. Although the U.S. National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, NOAA, issued an advisory in July announcing above-average sea surface temperatures in the wider Caribbean region, there had been no clear indication of increased sea temperatures in Panama and the western Caribbean until late August-early September. Scientists and local dive operators first ...

Environmental Science & Technology special issue on environmental policy

2010-10-13
WASHINGTON, Oct. 12, 2010 — Key articles in a special print edition of the American Chemical Society journal, Environmental Science & Technology (ES&T), one of the world's premier environmental journals, are now available online. The articles will appear Jan. 1, 2011 in an ES&T issue on environmental policy. The topics range from the mysterious disorder decimating honey bee colonies to ways to capture and store carbon and mitigate greenhouse effect. Those marked "Feature" are written in a less technical style and suitable for general readers, including students and non-scientists. ...

Nurses critical in assuring health needs of LGBTIQ youth

2010-10-13
Montreal, October 12, 2010 – Five American teenagers, all bullied because they were gay, have committed suicide over the past few weeks. The deaths have caused a media storm and raised a critical question: Did the social or healthcare system fail these adolescents? "Absolutely," says Concordia University Professor Deborah Dysart-Gale. "Bullying and such resulting suicides are avoidable. Healthcare workers have tools that can help queer teens – no one needs to die because of their sexual orientation." As Chair of the General Studies Unit of the Faculty of Engineering ...

Genetic defect found to cause severe epilepsy and mental retardation

2010-10-13
BEER-SHEVA, Israel, October 12, 2010 — A research team at Ben-Gurion University of the Negev and Soroka University Medical Center in Beer-Sheva, Israel has detected a genetic mutation resulting in a progressive disease of severe mental retardation and epilepsy beginning at infancy. The research was just published in the American Journal of Human Genetics. The team, led by BGU Prof. Ohad Birk of the National Institute for Biotechnology in the Negev determined that the defect is associated with the production of the 21st amino acid, selenocysteine (SEC), which leads to ...

LAST 30 PRESS RELEASES:

Reporting guideline for chatbot health advice studies

Announcing Mitra Bio as Tier 3 Sponsor of ARDD 2025

Study identifies global upswing in photosynthesis driven by land, offset by oceans

Study reports final clinical trial data for advanced kidney cancer treatment

Antibiotic resistant bacteria found in malnourished children under five years old

Study: Most US homes can save money and affordably weather blackouts with solar plus storage

The human touch of doctors will still be needed in the AI healthcare revolution, technology expert suggests

Helping me, inhibiting you: Analysis of interactions between intestinal microbiota

Hearing loss lowers prospects of employment and higher income for young Americans

Dramatically lower temperature, same high performance!

Trigger warnings fall flat, but safe spaces build trust in the classroom

Searching for a lethal needle in a haystack: synthetic opioid 1000 times more potent than morphine

Smart wound monitor poised to improve chronic infection care

Study reveals spinning could reduce NHS waiting lists for physiotherapy treatments

New AI tool illuminates “dark side” of the human genome

CCNY team discovers potential chemo-induced cognitive changes in cancer survivors

New mRNA-based therapy that shows promise in heart regeneration after heart attack

Extremists use gaming platforms to recruit - study

Nearly 70% of U.S. children in car crashes with a fatality were not using proper child passenger restraints, study finds

Understanding what makes some bladder cancers resistant to chemotherapy

Protecting your beating heart

The key to lowering your water bill may already be at your door

Saliva testing may reveal early signs of diabetes and obesity

4D images show heat shield damage goes below the surface

Hibernator “superpowers” may lie hidden in human DNA

Changes in diet drove physical evolution in early humans

Experts call for science- and evidence-based AI policy

Challenges in governing rapidly emerging marine-climate interventions

Slowdown in protein translation drives aging in the killifish brain

Behavior drives morphological change during primate evolution

[Press-News.org] U of M researchers find children's health insurance coverage varies widely
Coverage gaps still broad; tied to age, race/ethnicity and income