You are seeing this message because your Web browser does not support basic Web standards. Find out more about why this message is appearing and what you can do to make your experience on this site better.


ABOUT JAMA
Advanced Search

Welcome   | My Account | E-mail Alerts | Access Rights | Sign In


  Vol. 277 No. 8, February 26, 1997 TABLE OF CONTENTS
  JAMA
  •  Online Features
  ARTICLE
 This Article
 •Send to a friend
 • Save in My Folder
 •Save to citation manager
 •Permissions
 Citing Articles
 •Citation map
 •Citing articles on HighWire
 •Contact me when this article is cited
 Related Content
 •Similar articles in JAMA

Medicaid enrollment and health services access by Latino children in inner-city Los Angeles

N. Halfon, D. L. Wood, R. B. Valdez, M. Pereyra and N. Duan
RAND Health Sciences Program, Santa Monica, CA, USA.

OBJECTIVES: To understand the role of parental immigration status on Medicaid enrollment and access to health services for young Latino children. DESIGN: A cross-sectional household survey of the parents of inner-city Latino children. SETTING: South Central and East Los Angeles, Calif, 1992. POPULATION: Children 12 to 36 months old and their parents from 817 Latino families. MAIN OUTCOME VARIABLES: Continuous Medicaid enrollment, continuity of care, deferral of care, and number of visits. METHODS: Univariate analysis, logistic and linear regression by demographic and socioeconomic characteristics, residency status, and language use. RESULTS: Children were primarily born in the United States (96%), but most parents were not citizens (80%). Only 40.0% of eligible children had continuous Medicaid coverage since birth, 18.6% had never been insured, and 20.7% had received episodic Medicaid coverage. Continuous Medicaid coverage was negatively associated with either the caregiver (odds ratio [OR],0.32; 95% confidence interval [CI], 0.19-0.56) or their partner (OR=0.33, 95% CI =0.20-0.55) working. Residency status, language preference, and length of US residency were not associated with continuous Medicaid enrollment. Insurance coverage was associated with more physician visits, greater continuity of care, and fewer deferrals of care. CONCLUSION: While most (84%) young Latino children in inner-city Los Angeles were eligible for Medicaid, a substantial proportion (39.3%) have episodic or no coverage. Insurance status and provider type were more consistently associated with access rather than residency and language preference. In the aftermath of California's Proposition 187 and federal welfare reform, insurance status and access are likely to worsen for these young children unless the wave of antiimmigration sentiments is held in check.

THIS ARTICLE HAS BEEN CITED BY OTHER ARTICLES

Importance of Generational Status in Examining Access to and Utilization of Health Care Services by Mexican American Children
Burgos et al.
Pediatrics 2005;115:e322-e330.
ABSTRACT | FULL TEXT  

Health Disparities among Travelers Visiting Friends and Relatives Abroad
Angell and Cetron
ANN INTERN MED 2005;142:67-72.
ABSTRACT | FULL TEXT  

Providing Health Care to Latino Immigrants: Community-Based Efforts in the Rural Midwest
Casey et al.
Am. J. Public Health 2004;94:1709-1711.
ABSTRACT | FULL TEXT  

Improved Access and Quality of Care After Enrollment in the New York State Children's Health Insurance Program (SCHIP)
Szilagyi et al.
Pediatrics 2004;113:e395-e404.
ABSTRACT | FULL TEXT  

The Medical Home, Access to Care, and Insurance: A Review of Evidence
Starfield and Shi
Pediatrics 2004;113:1493-1498.
ABSTRACT | FULL TEXT  

Mexican-Origin Mothers' Experiences Using Children's Health Care Services
Clark
West J Nurs Res 2002;24:159-179.
ABSTRACT  

The Immigrant, Refugee, or Internationally Adopted Child
Jenista
Pediatr. Rev. 2001;22:419-429.
FULL TEXT  

Measuring Quality of Care for Vulnerable Children: Challenges and Conceptualization of a Pediatric Outcome Measure of Quality
Seid et al.
American Journal of Medical Quality 2000;15:182-188.
ABSTRACT  

Access Barriers to Health Care for Latino Children
Flores et al.
Arch Pediatr Adolesc Med 1998;152:1119-1125.
ABSTRACT | FULL TEXT  

Welfare Reform and the Obstetrical Care of Immigrants and Their Newborns
Minkoff et al.
NEJM 1997;337:705-707.
FULL TEXT  





HOME | CURRENT ISSUE | PAST ISSUES | TOPIC COLLECTIONS | CME | SUBMIT | SUBSCRIBE | HELP
CONDITIONS OF USE | PRIVACY POLICY | CONTACT US | SITE MAP
 
© 1997 American Medical Association. All Rights Reserved.