A Presentation: Issues Pertaining to Part-Year and Full-Year Health Insurance Coverage Gaps

Abstract

This presentation uses MEPS data to compare and assess the part-year and full-year uninsured rates for different age groups. Four empirical questions are considered: (1) How and why do adult and child part-year and full-year insurance coverage rates and trends differ? (2) How does family income of uninsured adults differ from family income of uninsured children? (3) How does the health status of young-adult uninsured individuals differ from the health status of older-adult uninsured individuals for different insurance coverage definitions and age groups? (4)How does unemployment impact the size of the part-year and full-year uninsured populations? Policy questions pertaining to these empirical results include: (1) How successful has the State Child Health Insurance Program (SCHIP) been in reducing the number of children with full-year and part-year insurance coverage gaps? (2)What are the advantages and disadvantages of focusing health reform initiatives on children versus focusing health reform initiatives on adults? (3)Are policies that help young uninsured adults likely to help older uninsured adults? (4)What policies might help reduce the uninsured rate for families who temporarily lose their job due to layoffs?