Full Citation

Title: State Childrens Health Insurance Program (SCHIP) Expansion: Will increasing income eligibility limits for children increase insurance coverage?

Citation Type: Miscellaneous

Publication Year: 2008

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Abstract: The State Childrens Health Insurance Program (SCHIP) was established to providehealth insurance coverage to children whose families cannot afford private coverage andwhose incomes are too high to qualify for Medicaid. Currently, a majority of states limitSCHIP eligibility to children with family incomes at or below 200% of the federalpoverty level (FPL), while four states have set the eligibility threshold at 250% of FPL.Our paper employs a difference-in-difference model that exploits these differences ineligibility thresholds to determine if higher eligibility thresholds have a positive impacton insurance coverage. We find no evidence that extending eligibility for SCHIP tofamilies above 200% of FPL has contributed to increased insurance coverage for childrenin this higher eligibility range. These results suggest that future efforts to increaseinsurance coverage for low-income children should focus on increasing enrollmentamong children already eligible for Medicaid and SCHIP and not on extending eligibilityfor public insurance to higher-income groups.

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Authors: Stockley, Karen; Walter, Ann

Publisher: University of Notre Dame

Data Collections: IPUMS CPS

Topics: Other, Poverty and Welfare

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