Health Insurance Coverage of Children in Iowa. Results from the Iowa Child and Family Household Health Survey. Third report in a series

Control and Prevention (CDC). The results and views expressed are the independent products of university research in collaboration with the Iowa Department of Public Health and Child Health Specialty Clinics and do no necessarily represent the views of the Maternal and Child Health Bureau, the CDC or the University of Iowa. Executive Summary This report presents information about the health insurance coverage of children in Iowa using data derived from the 2005 Iowa Child and Family Household Health Survey (IHHS). Results for uninsured children were compared to those for publicly (Medicaid and hawk-i) and privately insured children. • 3% were uninsured (down from 6% in 2000)-decrease due to growth in Medicaid and hawk-i-2/3 of uninsured children were eligible for Medicaid and hawk-i (80% in 2000) Another 4% were uninsured at some point in the past year. For parents, 11% were uninsured (same as 2000). Children without medical insurance were more likely to: • be Hispanic/Latino • have less educated parents • have a lower global health status (parents rate health excellent to poor) • have unmet need for medical and dental care (stopped from getting care) • have parents who worried a lot about paying for their children's care • have uninsured parents • be dentally uninsured Uninsured children were less likely to: • have access to care including having a regular source of medical and dental care and having had a preventive visit in the past year • have a special health care need (35% with public insurance) Children with public insurance rated their insurance higher than those with private insurance. Policy recommendations include: • continue to expand outreach and simplify enrollment for Medicaid and hawk-i-would cover 99% of children in Iowa with no new programs • develop options for covering families, not just children to improve access to care • increase coverage for mental health and dental services, two areas with significant unmet need for care 1