THE SCHOOL ENROLLMENT-BASED HEALTH-INSURANCE PROGRAM - SOCIOECONOMIC-FACTORS IN ENROLLEES USE OF HEALTH-SERVICES

Objectives. The School Enrollment-Based Health Insurance program is de signed to reduce financial barriers to children's health care use. Thi s study sought to determine if any socioeconomic measures differed bet ween enrollees with at least one health care encounter and those with no encounters. Methods. Logistic regression was used to assess the imp act of various predictors on the odds that a child would use health ca re services. Results. Children receiving free insurance premiums were less likely to use health care than those receiving partial subsidy. A frican-American and Hispanic children were less likely than Whites to use health care. Age, sex, and months enrolled also influenced the lik elihood of health care use. Conclusions. Financial and non- financial factors must be considered when developing children's health care prog rams.