Do the Characteristics of Uninsured Children Vary by Spell Duration?
Differences in the characteristics of children with long versus short spells without insurance are also potentially important to the design of programs as well as targeted outreach. However, children who experience long spells without insurance do not appear to be strikingly different from children who experience relatively brief spells without insurance. Researchers have found very strong differences between children with and without insurance coverage, but once children lose their coverage, there appears to be little that differentiates between those who remain uninsured for long periods of time and those who become re-insured fairly quickly. Children with long spells were somewhat more likely to be Hispanic and to live with both parents, but no other notable differences emerged. On the whole, these findings give us little information to use in designing programs or outreach.
