U.S. Public School Enrollment-Based Health Insurance Initiatives and America's Uninsured

• Published in: The Journal of school health Vol. 67; no. 10; pp. 422 - 427
• Main Authors: Romund, Camilla M., Farmer, Frank L., Tilford, John M.
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: Oxford, UK Blackwell Publishing Ltd 01.12.1997; American School Health Association
• Subjects: Adolescent; Arkansas; Child; Child Health; Child Welfare; Children & youth; Comprehensive School Health Education; Elementary Secondary Education; Eligibility; Enrollment; Florida; Health aspects; Health Insurance; Health Programs; Humans; Innovations; Insurance, Health - legislation & jurisprudence; Insurance, Health - trends; Low Income Groups; Medicaid; Medically Uninsured - legislation & jurisprudence; Medically Uninsured - statistics & numerical data; Medically uninsured persons; New Hampshire; Nursing; Physical Education; Public Health; Public Schools; Schools; Secondary School Students; Services; Students; Texas; United States; Florida; Arkansas; Texas; New Hampshire; United States
• ISSN: 0022-4391; 1746-1561
• DOI: 10.1111/j.1746-1561.1997.tb01288.x

This article reviews current literature on school enrollment‐based health insurance programs underway or pending in the United States. This model of affordable family health insurance delivery was first proposed in a 1988 New England Journal of Medicine Sounding Board article, but only a few states ‐ Arkansas, Florida, New Hampshire, and Texas ‐ have begun public sector‐driven programs in the 1990s that use school enrollment as a pooling mechanism to purchase group insurance policies from the private sector. Public support of this model is strong, interest is currently growing, and other states, including North Carolina and Iowa, are exploring or have enacted legislation that supports establishment of school enrollment‐based health insurance programs. After summarizing these public‐sector initiatives, additional information is presented on uninsuredness in America; risk factors for uninsuredness among children; and national public and private initiatives in child health insurance using eligibility criteria other than or including school enrollment that were examined by the GAO in 1994/95.