Health Services Research
February 2005
From Medicaid to Uninsured: Drop-Out among Children in Public Insurance Programs
By Benjamin D. Sommers
Of the children enrolled in Medicaid or CHIP, 27.7 percent were no longer enrolled 12 months later. Of those, 45.4 percent dropped out despite apparently remaining eligible and having no other insurance-corresponding to 3.0 million children annually.
Drop-out from Medicaid and CHIP is a significant policy concern and helps explain the persistence of uninsurance among millions of eligible children.
http://www.ingentaconnect.com/content/bpl/hesr/2005/00000040/00000001/art00006
Comment: We have a fragmented system of health care coverage that depends on multiple factors such as income, age, employment status, dependent status, disability, military service, incarceration, Native American heritage, union membership, employers’ dedication to the welfare of their employees, and innumerable other factors which result in instability in the adequacy of health care coverage and whether it will even be there when needed.
If we had a single, universal, cradle-to-grave program of health care coverage, we would not have to be worrying about these three million eligible but uninsured children who have dropped out of Medicaid or CHIP.Nor would we have to worry about health care coverage for anyone else.
Now isn’t it ludicrous that we are still talking about this very simple concept and not doing anything about it? Well, no. If it were ludicrous, it would be laughable. This isn’t.