The Effects of the State Children’s Health Insurance Program (SCHIP) on Children’s Health Insurance Coverage

This paper analyzes the effects of availability of the State Children’s Health Insurance Program (SCHIP) on children’s SCHIP enrollment and Medicaid enrollment in addition to more commonly focused overall public and private coverage and the uninsured rate. Linear probability models with controls for state and quarter of year fixed effects were estimated using data from the National Health Interview Survey (NHIS) for the years 1995 through 2002. My results show that nationwide among children for whom SCHIP became available, 5 percent enrolled in SCHIP, less than 3 percent gained public coverage, 1.4 percent lost private insurance, and 1.1 percent became no longer uninsured. The spillover effect of SCHIP implementation on Medicaid enrollment among children under age 6 and with family income below poverty level was 5.5 percent. SCHIP’s effects on health coverage were greater for lower-income children, older children, and states implementing only stand-along programs. These findings, many of which are similar to other recent national estimates, will contribute to the upcoming Congressional discussion about the reauthorization of SCHIP.