Children with Uninsured Parents: Health Insurance as a Family Matter

• In Event: 220 - Section on the Sociology of the Family Roundtables (one-hour)
  In Refereed Roundtable: Section on the Sociology of the Family Roundtables (one-hour). Table 01. Family Structure and Children's Health

Abstract

Health insurance coverage among children has been improving steadily in the United States in recent years. Insured children however, are still not protected from the economic risks due to poor health of their uninsured family members. Medical bills are the single largest factor in personal bankruptcies that often drives families into poverty (Mamor et al. 2014). An uninsured parent often forgoes needed care (Edin 1993, Newman 2000) which may lead to worse health and loss in earnings (Institute of Medicine 2004). This paper examines the extent of children’s exposure to the spill-over effects of uninsured adults. I calculate the prevalence of children growing up with an uninsured parent or guardian using two longitudinal panels from the Survey of Income and Program Participation covering the period between 2004 and 2012 (N = 56,784). I simulate the expected number of years a child will live with an uninsured parent from multi-state increment-decrement life tables. Overall, a child is expected to spend 3.8 years living with an uninsured parent. Life-table simulations also show that younger children are more likely than older children to live with an uninsured parent. Simulations by family type show significant disparities. African American children live 3.9 years with an uninsured parent compared to 2.4 years among white children. Hispanic children live 8.5 years with an uninsured parent. Children with single-mothers are no more likely than children with married parents to live with an uninsured parent. Younger children living with single-fathers are more likely to live with an uninsured parent.

Author

• Heeju Sohn, University of Pennsylvania