Health is a unity and harmony within the mind, body and spirit which is unique to each person, and is as defined by that person. The level of wellness or health is, in part, determined by the ability to deal with and defend against stress. Health is determined by physiological, psychological, socio-cultural, spiritual, and developmental stage variables.

Public insurance improves child health care quality

Health :: Public insurance improves child health care quality

The State Children's Health Insurance Program (SCHIP) has reduced the number of uninsured children in the U.S., while improving access and utilization of health care services.

In "The Impact of Public Insurance Expansions on Children's Access and Use of Care," researchers reviewed National Health Interview Survey data from 1997 on 13,579 children, age 0 to 18, before the implementation of SCHIP, and another 11,900 children in 2003, after SCHIP implementation.

The data showed a reduction in uninsured children across all income groups, with the SCHIP target group (families whose incomes exceed Medicaid eligibility limits but fall below 200 percent of the federal poverty level) showing the greatest reduction - from 15.1 percent in 1997 to 8.7 percent in 2003.

There also was a reduction in the proportion of children without a provider visit in the last year and children without a consistent source of care. Children with full-year public health care coverage experienced at least as good and sometimes better care outcomes than children with private insurance.

The research provides a baseline for assessing the impact of future changes in public and private health insurance programs.

Recently posted related articles on Health :

1. Health :: First aid for family health and homoeopathy
2. Health :: Number of cases of most vaccine-preventable diseases in US at all-time low
3. Health :: UN-backed fund to fight major diseases approves $1.1 billion of new grants
4. Smoking :: Smokers remain unaware of the health effects of smoking
5. Health :: Why poor kids may make sicker adults
6. Health Care :: Survey finds one-third of US adults call for completely rebuilding the health care system
7. Health :: Research sheds new light on how diseases jump across species
8. Psychology :: Child health psychologists need to promote adult disease prevention
9. Stress :: Stress on the rise, affecting health, relationships and work
10. Health Insurance :: Private/public insurance mix is most practical way to achieve universal coverage