Table 1.
Selected characteristics of uninsured minority children and their parents (N = 267)
| Characteristic | Mean or % |
|---|---|
| Age of child (years), mean (range) | 7.3 (1, 18) |
| Gender of child | |
| Male | 50 % |
| Female | 50 % |
| Race/ethnicity of child | |
| Latino | 65 % |
| African-American | 35 % |
| Child born in US | 95 % |
| Gender of primary caregiver | |
| Female | 96 % |
| Male | 4 % |
| Primary caregiver has limited English proficiency | 32 % |
| Marital status of primary caregiver | |
| Married, living with spouse | 39 % |
| Single | 30 % |
| Married, separated from spouse | 13 % |
| Common-law marriage | 7 % |
| Divorced | 6 % |
| Living with partner | 4 % |
| Widowed | 1 % |
| Primary caregiver not high-school graduate | 43 % |
| Primary caregiver unemployed | 53 % |
| Primary caregiver has health insurance | 26 % |
| Type of insurance coverage for insured caregiver | |
| Public | 52 % |
| Private | 45 % |
| Other | 3 % |
| Mean combined annual family income (range) | $21,857 ($1,440, $64,000) |
| Mean number of children in household (range) | 2.3 (1, 13) |
| Mean number of adults in household (range) | 2.1 (1, 6) |
| Primary caregiver aware that child is eligible for Medicaid or CHIP | 49 % |
| Child ever had health insurance before | 95 % |
| Insurance that uninsured child had in past | |
| Medicaid | 72 % |
| CHIP | 14 % |
| Private | 13 % |
| Instituto Mexicano del Seguro Sociala | 1 % |
| Mean months without insurance (range) | 14.2 (1-144) |
| Median months without insurance (inner 95th percentile range) | 6 (1, 84) |
| Reason child lost insuranceb | |
| Insurance expired and never reapplied | 30 % |
| Was told making too much income/did not qualify | 13 % |
| Changed job | 13 % |
| Change of address | 11 % |
| Applied but never got reply or information | 9 % |
| Missing paperwork | 8 % |
| Does not know | 6 % |
| Father was supposed to cover child | 4 % |
| Too expensive | 2 % |
| Did not provide reason | 2 % |
| Child was determined to be disabled | 1 % |
| Sometimes paid premium late and was dropped | 1 % |
| Language barrier | 1 % |
| Insurance stopped when child was adopted | 1 % |
| Child not US citizen | 1 % |
| Told child aged out of health-insurance coverage | 1 % |
| Not legal guardian | 1 % |
aPublic health insurance in Mexico
bCited by parents of uninsured minority children (N = 257) who were eligible for but not enrolled in Medicaid or CHIP. Does not include 12 children who have never been insured during their lifetime. Proportions sum to > 100 % because parents could choose more than one reason