What Are the Health Care Needs of Low-Income Children?
Children’s health care needs are specific to their developmental level; children are
not little adults. Children’s optimal health is best achieved through access
to appropriate and comprehensive health care (Pediatrics, 1997). Shelley Gehshan and Christopher DeGraw, presenters at the June/September 1998 User Liaison Program (ULP) SCHIP Workshops, highlighted several key issues
to consider regarding appropriate benefits to meet children’s health care needs.
Children need a continuum of services including:
- Preventive care and routine screenings.
- Primary, acute, and emergency care.
- Specialty services (Occupational Therapy (OT), Physical Therapy (PT),
Speech Therapy (ST), etc.).
- Ancillary and support services (translation, transportation).
- Reproductive health care.
Although primary preventive care is a major component of children’s health care,
States can expect that a significant proportion of children will need specialized services
as well, given that:
- Four percent of children have a developmental disorder.
- Seven percent have a learning disability.
- 20 percent have an emotional or behavioral disorder (1 in 4 is severe).
- 31 percent of children are affected by a chronic physical condition.
Special health care services will be important in the development of SCHIP
benefit and service delivery systems given that, among the SCHIP target population
(uninsured children in low-income families):
- 17 percent have special health care needs (Newcheck, et al., March 1998).
- Six percent have a disability (1994 NHIS data, MCH Health Policy Research Center).
Ample latitude within Title XXI legislation, as discussed in the following section,
allows States the flexibility needed to design SCHIP benefit packages and service delivery
systems which meet the broad range of health care needs of children.
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Benefit Design 
