More Latinx and Black Children Enrolled in Managed Care Health Plans

More Latinx and Black Children Enrolled in Managed Care Health Plans

Concerns about impact on access to services and disparities in health outcomes

Latinx and Black children are enrolled in public and private managed care health plans in greater proportions than white children, according to data from a national survey published in the journal JAMA Network Open. This pattern persists even when controlled by household income and whether a child has special healthcare needs.

“Our study found racial and ethnic differences in managed care enrollment, which raises concerns about potentially limited access to specialty services, especially for children with complex chronic conditions,” said co-lead author Kristin Kan, MD, MPH, MSc, a pediatrician at Ann Robert H. Lurie Children’s Hospital of Chicago and Assistant Professor of Pediatrics at Northwestern University Feinberg School of Medicine. “We know that there are racial and ethnic inequities in child health outcomes. A question for future research is whether these disparities are associated with greater managed care enrollment.”

The 2018 Medical Expenditure Panel Survey Household Component (MEPS-HC) public use file, a nationally representative survey of US households, was used to identify children (from birth to 17 years) with public or commercial coverage for this study.

Dr. Kan and colleagues found that Latinx children were most often enrolled in Medicaid managed care plans (nearly 60 percent). Black and Latinx children were more likely enrolled in commercial managed care, with over 35 percent of Black children in a commercial managed care plan and 42 percent of Latinx children. In comparison, over 36 percent of white children were in Medicaid managed care plans and 30 percent in commercial managed care plans.

Research at Ann Robert H. Lurie Children’s Hospital of Chicago is conducted through the Stanley Manne Children’s Research Institute. The Manne Research Institute is focused on improving child health, transforming pediatric medicine and ensuring healthier futures through the relentless pursuit of knowledge. Lurie Children’s is ranked as one of the nation’s top children’s hospitals by U.S. News World Report. It is the pediatric training ground for Northwestern University Feinberg School of Medicine. Last year, the hospital served more than 220,000 children from 48 states and 49 countries.

Original

Staff writer for the Chicago Morning Star

Related Posts
Health Care Fraud Results in Prison Sentencing for Metro East Dentist
Defrauding Illinois Medicaid out of hundreds of thousands of dollars over a period of several
JJC’s Health and Public Services employees create, donate health care supplies
The demand for personal protective equipment has risen as the doctors and nurses treat patients
Violence: Chicago’s Youth Fastest Growing Problem
Parents have named Violence as the fastest-growing problem for Chicago's Youth. According to the latest
Chicago is getting closer to eliminating tip pay
In Chicago, servers who depend mostly on gratuities may disappear by the end of the
As emotions grow, Democrats will debate in the New Hampshire primary
In the midst of an internal party conflict that has heightened tensions between members and
The White House struggles with immigration to placate its leftist supporters
The Biden administration is treading carefully in order to placate Democratic mayors and governors who
Chicago Mayor: Some migrants may be relocated to tent “base camps”
In order to get migrants out of police stations before winter, Chicago's mayor Brandon Johnson
Indianapolis has several retail medical facilities
According to recent statistics from the health care analytics company Definitive Healthcare, there are around
How to navigate Chicago traffic on Labor Day
On Chicago's roads, this will be a significant day. Why it matters: Avoid spending all
Hurricane Idalia sweeps the Southeast
On Wednesday morning, Hurricane Idalia made landfall on Florida's Big Bend, posing what official forecasts