IS INSURANCE FOR CHILDREN ENOUGH - THE LINK BETWEEN PARENTS AND CHILDRENS HEALTH-CARE USE REVISITED

Parents' own use of physician services is known to be a strong predict or of their children's use of such services. This paper contrasts the relationship between parents' and children's use of services among uni nsured and privately insured children. Parents' utilization is found t o have a larger impact upon service use among privately insured childr en than among uninsured children. Even if all children were universall y insured parents' health care utilization would remain a key determin ant in children's use of services. Policies that integrate financing a nd delivery systems for all family members deserve attention among eff orts to foster better access for children. Neglecting financial access to care for adults may have the unintended effect of diminishing the impact of targeted health insurance programs for children.