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Children of Medicaid-enrolled parents 29% more likely to receive recommended care
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Parental enrollment in Medicaid was associated with an increased likelihood that children from low-income families would receive recommended well-child visits, according to research published in Pediatrics.
“One important but understudied effect of expanding access to health insurance for parents is its impact on well-child visit use among children,” Maya Venkataramani, MD, MPH, from the Division of General Internal Medicine at Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine, and colleagues wrote.
“Children who receive well-child visits are more likely to complete immunization schedules and are less likely to have avoidable hospitalizations,” the researchers wrote. “Well-child visit use in the United States has been persistently suboptimal, particularly among racial and ethnic minorities and in low-income families.”
To determine the relationship between parental Medicaid coverage and the likelihood of their children receiving recommended preventive care, Venkataramani and colleagues examined data from the Medicaid Expenditure Panel Surveys among parent-child dyads from families with incomes less than 200% of the federal poverty level (n = 50,622) over a 12-year period.
For children aged younger than 17 years, the researchers examined whether a child had received a well-child visit in the previous calendar year, defined as outpatient visits for a “well-child examination,” for a “general checkup,” or for “immunization or shots.” Additionally, the researchers constructed a binary indicator to determine if the parent had Medicaid coverage at any point during the year.
From the survey analysis, the researchers determined that less than half of the dyads (44.7%) exhibited incomes less than 100% of the federal poverty level. Additionally, the majority of parents were white (72.5%), non-Hispanic (67.4%), and had earned at least a high school diploma or general education diploma (67.0%).
According to study results, parental enrollment in Medicaid was linked to a 29% (95% CI: 11-47%; P = .002) increase in the likelihood that the child would have received annual well-child visits and other preventive care.
This association was strongest among families with incomes 100% to less than 200% of the federal poverty level, who exhibited a 45% increased probability of the child receiving a well-child visit if the parent was enrolled compared with parents who were not enrolled in Medicaid (95% CI: 17-73%; P = .002).
“We provide evidence of an independent relationship between parental Medicaid enrollment and children’s primary care use in low-income families, and we illustrate the potential for adult Medicaid expansions to have positive spillover effects on children’s health care use,” Venkataramani and colleagues wrote.
“These findings are of great significance given the current uncertainty surrounding the future of the ACA and Medicaid expansions authorized by the law,” they wrote. “Our work highlights the potential for Medicaid expansions targeting low-income adults to mitigate disparities in the receipt of well-child visits between low- and high-income families.” -by Bob Stott
Disclosure: The authors report no relevant financial disclosures.
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