Wednesday, August 03, 2005
Copyright © Las Vegas Review-Journal

Study: Many uninsured kids don't get health care

43 percent of 130,000 Nevadans without insurance affected

Forty-three percent of uninsured Nevada children go without medical care, though they are eligible for government health programs, according a report released Tuesday.

The only state with more uninsured children not receiving care was Arizona, with 47 percent, according to the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation's study of federal data.

The study shows about one-third of the roughly 8.4 million uninsured children nationwide went without medical care for a year, even when they needed it for an illness or a vaccination for school.

Overall, 33 percent of uninsured children went without care for an entire year during the period of 2002 through 2003. That included 41 percent of Hispanic children, 29 percent of black children and 26 percent of white children.

Nevada state officials said Tuesday they are trying to expand coverage for children of low-income families through a state insurance program called Nevada Check Up. The program, which now covers 27,837 children, offers comprehensive health coverage for doctor visits, vision and dental care.

More than 130,000 Nevada children are uninsured. Of those, more than 90,000 would qualify for coverage either under the Nevada Check Up program or Medicaid's Children's Health Assurance program, said Lynn Carrigan, operations manager for Nevada Check Up.

State lawmakers during the legislative session earlier this year approved an increase in funding that will allow Nevada Check Up to cover about 31,000 children by June 2007.

"Even with that, we'll still be way behind," Carrigan said.

The numbers of Nevada children going without health care are alarming to Paul Brown, director of the Progressive Leadership Alliance of Nevada, a nonprofit advocacy group.

"Having sick kids who go without care hurts us all in many ways," he said. "They can't concentrate on their studies if they're not feeling well or if they have a toothache. And we see a faster spread of disease if they aren't being treated when they're sick. It's short-sighted for us not to have better coverage for these kids."

Carrigan said the state is using a grant from the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation to promote its health programs for children, partnering with schools to inform parents of children who receive free or reduced lunches that they could qualify for state health insurance benefits.

The grant also funds health fairs, with information about health coverage for poor children and assistance with the application process.

Keith Schwer, director of the Center for Business and Economic Research at the University of Nevada, Las Vegas, said many factors contribute to the large numbers of uninsured children.

He said Nevada's population boom creates a swell of new employees who might not immediately qualify for employers' health care benefits.

Other factors include the state's large number of small businesses, many of which offer no coverage or limited coverage employees forgo.