Failure to Thrive: The Continuing Poor Health of Medical Child Support

Publication Date: June 2003

Publisher: Center for Law and Social Policy

Author(s): Paula Roberts

Research Area: Health

Type: Report

Coverage: United States

Abstract:

The state child support enforcement program can better assist the uninsured children under its purview in obtaining coverage. First, it could require a parent with access to coverage to enroll the child and allocate any associated costs for premiums, co-payments, and deductibles between the parents. Second, when neither parent has access to private coverage, the state child support agency can provide information to the custodial parent about public coverage and help the custodial parent enroll the child in such coverage. This paper discusses the obstacles to obtaining dependant coverage in these two ways and provides examples of states that have overcome these obstacles.