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  Evaluation Results: Santa Clara County

  The Effect of New Insurance Coverage on the Health Status of Low-Income Children in Santa Clara County, Embry M. Howell, Christopher Trenholm
Health Services Research (September 2006)

NEW!: Santa Clara County Children’s Health Initiative Improves Children’s Health (pdf), Embry Howell, Urban Institute and Christopher Trenholm, Mathematica Policy Research
(March 2007)

For this brief the researchers interviewed parents when their children were enrolled, and compared their responses to parents who had recently renewed their child's coverage after one year in the Healthy Kids program. There are two new and important findings--in the first year after enrollment, children covered by Healthy Kids have:
Better health: Healthy Kids cuts by almost one-third, from 18% to 12%, the number of children reported to be in poor or fair health.
More opportunities to learn: Healthy Kids slashes by more than half, from 11% to 5%, the number of students missing three or more school days in the previous month due to health problems.

Previously Released:
Phase 1: Expanding Coverage for Children: The Santa Clara County Children's Health Initiative (pdf), Christopher Trenholm
Mathematica Policy Research, Inc. (June 2004)

This issue brief highlights findings from the first component of the evaluation:
• CHI led to large enrollment increases in both Healthy Families and Medi-Cal – by almost 13,500 children or 28 percent.
• CHI enrolled a similar number of children (15,638) in the new county-based program, Healthy Kids. Thus, for every child enrolled in Healthy Kids, CHI added nearly one additional child to Medi-Cal or Healthy Families.
• Enrollment gains were most pronounced for groups most likely to be affected by outreach, i.e., Healthy Families-eligible children and those covered by the poverty-expansion categories in Medi-Cal.
• CHI increased state and federal spending in Santa Clara County for Medi-Cal and Healthy Families by an estimated $24.4 million during the initiative's first two years.
Phase 2: Santa Clara Healthy Kids Program Reduces Gaps in Children's Access to Medical and Dental Care (pdf), Christopher Trenholm, Embry Howell, Dana Hughes and Sean Orzol
Mathematica Policy Research, Inc. (April 2005)

This issue brief highlights findings from the second component of the evaluation:
• Unmet medical and dental need has been reduced by 50% (22% to 10% and 20% to 9%, respectively);
• The percentage of children with a usual source of care has nearly doubled for medical care (50% to 89%) and nearly tripled for dental care (29% to 81%);
• Use of medical care has increased significantly for well-child (24% to 43%), sick-child (16% to 30%) and specialty (4% to 11%) visits, increasing from 30% to 54% overall for any type of visit; and
• Parents' confidence in their ability to get their children needed care nearly doubled (43% to 75%).

Phase 3: Santa Clara County Children’s Health Initiative Outreach and Enrollment Efforts are Effective and Helpful to Parents (pdf), Dana Hughes
Mathematica Policy Research, Inc., (April 2005)

This brief examines parents’ perceptions of the Santa Clara Children’s Health Initiative’s (CHI) methods of enrolling children in the Healthy Kids programs. Findings are derived from site visits, parent focus groups and a survey of parents of children enrolled in the program. CHI partners work together to conduct extensive, coordinated outreach to families and assist parents with applying. Parents indicate that the application assisters are very helpful and the applications (and renewal applications) are easy to complete.

More information at Mathematica Policy Research, Inc.


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