Report: Children's Health Care Substandard
Report: Children's Health Care Substandard
Basic Needs Not Met for Children With and Without Insurance
April 15, 2004 -- The U.S. is failing to meet the basic health needs of millions of children, including those with insurance, according to a report released Thursday.
The analysis, based on a review of more than 500 studies, points to shortfalls at nearly every level of health care for children. As many as three-quarters of U.S. children do not regularly receive scientifically backed or recommended care, while as many as one-fifth routinely get unnecessary antibiotics and other unneeded care that wastes money and could put them at risk, states the report, compiled by the Commonwealth Fund.
The study's researchers blame a range of problems in the U.S. health system, including a widespread lack of insurance coverage, low health awareness among minorities, and a generalized lack of attention to quality care for children who see doctors.
"Quality problems are widespread and they run the whole gamut from prevention to acute and chronic" diseases, says Sheila Leatherman, a research professor at the University of North Carolina School of Public Health and the study's co-researcher.
Leatherman pointed to one federally funded study in 2002 showing that only 11 states met CDC goals of extending basic immunizations to 80% of children. Rates ran as low as 65% in Colorado.
In addition, only 22% of Hispanic children and 28% of black children receive recommended, regular anti-inflammatory drugs for chronic asthma, according to another study. Rates were slightly higher in white children at 33%.
The report points to a lack of health insurance as a main problem. As many as one-quarter of the 43 million Americans without coverage are children, though many are eligible for Medicaid and other state-run insurance programs. But researchers stressed that even kids with coverage often do not receive basic quality care.
A 2003 study conducted by the National Committee for Quality Assurance, a nonprofit standard-setting body funded by the insurance industry, found that only 25% of sexually active teenage girls with private coverage received screening for chlamydia, a common sexually transmitted disease that can cause infertility if left untreated. Meanwhile, about 40% of similar teens with Medicaid coverage got the screening.
Report: Children's Health Care Substandard
Basic Needs Not Met for Children With and Without Insurance
April 15, 2004 -- The U.S. is failing to meet the basic health needs of millions of children, including those with insurance, according to a report released Thursday.
The analysis, based on a review of more than 500 studies, points to shortfalls at nearly every level of health care for children. As many as three-quarters of U.S. children do not regularly receive scientifically backed or recommended care, while as many as one-fifth routinely get unnecessary antibiotics and other unneeded care that wastes money and could put them at risk, states the report, compiled by the Commonwealth Fund.
The study's researchers blame a range of problems in the U.S. health system, including a widespread lack of insurance coverage, low health awareness among minorities, and a generalized lack of attention to quality care for children who see doctors.
"Quality problems are widespread and they run the whole gamut from prevention to acute and chronic" diseases, says Sheila Leatherman, a research professor at the University of North Carolina School of Public Health and the study's co-researcher.
Leatherman pointed to one federally funded study in 2002 showing that only 11 states met CDC goals of extending basic immunizations to 80% of children. Rates ran as low as 65% in Colorado.
In addition, only 22% of Hispanic children and 28% of black children receive recommended, regular anti-inflammatory drugs for chronic asthma, according to another study. Rates were slightly higher in white children at 33%.
Not Just Uninsurance
The report points to a lack of health insurance as a main problem. As many as one-quarter of the 43 million Americans without coverage are children, though many are eligible for Medicaid and other state-run insurance programs. But researchers stressed that even kids with coverage often do not receive basic quality care.
A 2003 study conducted by the National Committee for Quality Assurance, a nonprofit standard-setting body funded by the insurance industry, found that only 25% of sexually active teenage girls with private coverage received screening for chlamydia, a common sexually transmitted disease that can cause infertility if left untreated. Meanwhile, about 40% of similar teens with Medicaid coverage got the screening.
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