A Problem in Health Care Nursing Administration
To state it in its simplest form, the problem is that some children are not covered by medical insurance and do not receive appropriate medical care. Although there are program designed specifically to address the needs of poor children, there are gaps in coverage. There are differences in estimates of the number of children uncovered. For example, Perloff (1999) quotes one figure in which 15 percent of American children, or 11 million children, are without health insurance. On the other hand, Wolfe (1999) indicated that during 1997, approximately 23.8 percent of poor children were without health insurance coverage (Wolfe, 1999). In any event, millions of children paid access to health care, and many of these children consequently are not take to doctors and do not receive treatment for minor and major medical conditions. There are also groups of children who are at even higher risk, including teen-agers, children of color, and children in single-parent families (Weigers, Weinick and Cohen, 1998).
Much of the problem seems to rest with Medicaid. According to statistics, in 1997, Medicaid covered approximately 21 million children, but another 5 million who were eligible were not enrolled. Medicaid enrollment of children actually dropped 1.4 percent from 1995-1997. On the other hand, a new program, the Children's Health Insurance Program, was increasing its coverage, signing up 1.3 million children, although that was still less than half of the uninsured children eligible for the program (Serafina, 1999).
Problems include a deemphasis on Medicaid by states, families moving off welfare, and fears on the part of illegal immigrants that signing up their children for Medicaid will place them at risk. A report indicated that welfare reform left 675,000 people uninsured in 1997, with 62 percent of those children(Serafina, 1999).
The problem is relevant to all health car...