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Barriers to medical care for white, black, and Hispanic American children
1University of Maryland, School of Social Work, Baltimore 21201.
Insights
Black and Hispanic children face significant barriers to healthcare access, including longer waits and fewer routine checkups compared to white children. These disparities persist even when controlling for insurance status, highlighting systemic issues in medical care access.
Area of Science:
- Health Services Research
- Social Determinants of Health
- Pediatric Health Equity
Background:
- Removing barriers to medical care is a key social policy objective, particularly for vulnerable populations.
- Previous efforts to expand Medicaid coverage demonstrate the importance of addressing access to care for children.
- Understanding disparities in healthcare access for minority children is crucial for policy development.
Purpose of the Study:
- To examine the barriers black and Hispanic children encounter in accessing medical care.
- To compare healthcare access for black, Hispanic, and white children using national survey data.
- To identify specific challenges faced by uninsured minority children in obtaining consistent medical care.
Main Methods:
- Utilized data from the 1987 National Medical Expenditure Survey (NMES).
- Employed a multistage probability sample of 15,000 US households.
- Analyzed demographic, insurance, and healthcare utilization variables for children.
Main Results:
- Black and Hispanic children were disproportionately likely to be poor, uninsured, and from single-parent households.
- These children experienced longer waiting times for medical providers compared to white children.
- Uninsured black and Hispanic children had lower rates of having a usual source of care and fewer routine physician visits than uninsured white children.
Conclusions:
- Significant disparities exist in healthcare access for black and Hispanic children compared to white children.
- These disparities are influenced by socioeconomic factors and persist even after accounting for insurance status.
- Targeted interventions are needed to address systemic barriers and improve healthcare equity for minority children.
Abstract:
As demonstrated by efforts to expand Medicaid coverage for poor and needy children, removing barriers to medical care continues to be an important social policy goal. Data from the 1987 National Medical Expenditure Survey, a multistage probability sample of 15,000 US households, was used to examine some of the barriers that black and Hispanic children encounter in obtaining access to medical care. Results from the 1987 study indicate that black and Hispanic children were more likely than white children to be poor, uninsured members of single-parent households, and to have to wait longer to see a medical provider. Yet differences in waiting time at the usual source of care remained after controlling for insurance. In 1987, 18.6% of uninsured white children were without a usual source of care compared with 28.4% and 25.2% of uninsured black and Hispanic children, respectively. Furthermore, 17.6% of uninsured white children made at least one routine visit to a physician during 1987, while only 11.4% and 10.6% of the uninsured black and Hispanic children, respectively, saw a physician for a regular checkup.