Health care reaches more children under age three in the United States than any other family-facing system and represents the most common entry point for developmental assessment of and services for children. In this article, Adam Schickedanz and Neal Halfon examine how well the child health care system promotes healthy child development early in…

Marriage between two parents, compared with other family living arrangements, appears, on average, to enhance children's wellbeing and development. Some of the positive association between marriage and children's wellbeing comes from positive associations between marriage and other things that also contribute to children's wellbeing. David Ribar…

It might seem strange to ask whether increasing access to medical care can improve children's health. Yet Lindsey Leininger and Helen Levy begin by pointing out that access to care plays a smaller role than we might think, and that many other factors, such as those discussed elsewhere in this issue, strongly influence children's health.…

Few people would disagree that children with disabilities need adequate health insurance. But what kind of health insurance coverage would be optimal for these children? Peter Szilagyi surveys the current state of insurance coverage for children with special health care needs and examines critical aspects of coverage with an eye to helping policy…

Much attention has aided measurement and improvement in the quality of health care during the past two decades, with new ways to define and measure quality, recognition that doing so can identify strategies to enhance care, and systematic efforts by both government and private insurers to apply these principles. In this article, James Perrin…

All children, even the healthiest, have preventive and acute health care needs. Moreover, a growing number of children are chronically ill, with preventive, acute, and ongoing care needs that may be much more demanding than those for healthy children. Because children are unable to care for themselves, their parents are expected to provide a range…

Childhood disabilities entail a range of immediate and long-term economic costs that have important implications for the well-being of the child, the family, and society but that are difficult to measure. In an extensive research review, Mark Stabile and Sara Allin examine evidence about three kinds of costs--direct, out-of-pocket costs incurred…

Researchers have long known that poverty in childhood is linked with a range of negative adult socioeconomic outcomes, from lower educational achievement and behavioral problems to lower earnings in the labor market. But few researchers have explored whether exposure to a disadvantaged background affects immigrant children and native children…

Poor childhood health contributes to lower socioeconomic status in adulthood. Subsequently, low socioeconomic status among parents contributes to poor childhood health outcomes in the next generation. This cycle can be particularly pernicious for vulnerable and low-income minority populations, including many children of immigrants. And because of…

Examines the benefits which need to be included in a health care reform program to improve coverage for children and adolescents. Reviews three criteria (medical necessity, insurability, and cost effectiveness) that may be used to develop a benefits package and finds them of limited utility. Maintains that informed consensus is the most reliable…

Examines the claimed advantages and potential disadvantages of managed care plans for children and pregnant women. Although available research does not support most claims that such plans reduce costs and improve care, managed care plans are growing and changing rapidly. Therefore, past experience with managed care may not be a good guide to…

Discusses the advantages and disadvantages of an employer-based health insurance system and the effects of such a system on children. Examines employer decisions regarding coverage, financial limitations, insurer and health plan practices that affect the availability and continuity of coverage, and several new models for providing health insurance…

Although the Medicaid program has brought health insurance coverage to millions of poor children and their families, children continue to make up a disproportionately large share of uninsured Americans. Discusses the various national reform measures under consideration to expand health insurance coverage and contain the costs of such coverage,…

Noting that the failures of the U.S. health care system are compounding the problems faced by low-income Americans, Alan Weil argues that any strategy to reduce poverty must provide access to health care for all low-income families. Although nearly all children in families with incomes under 200 percent of poverty are eligible for either Medicaid…

To address the health care needs of the millions of uninsured children of low-income families ineligible for Medicaid, many states have developed innovative public and private programs. Examines the privately funded Blue Cross/Blue Shield Caring Program and promising public programs in 11 states. (MDM)