According to a state-by-state analysis conducted by the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation, the State Children’s Health Insurance Program (SCHIP) covered 6.6 million children last year, and nearly 9 million children remained uninsured.

Citation: State Health Access Data Assistance Center (2007). Protecting America’s Future: A State-by-State Look at SCHIP & Uninsured Kids. Princeton, NJ: Robert Wood Johnson Foundation. (Available online)

US Children get worse care than adults, and even white, middle-class children with health insurance often fail to get the recommended care, according to a new study by researchers at RAND, the University of Washington, and Seattle Children’s Hospital Research Institute (BusinessWeek).

Citation: Rita Mangione-Smith, Alison H. DeCristofaro, Claude M. Setodji, et al. (2007). The quality of ambulatory care delivered to children in the United States. New England Journal of Medicine 357:1515-1523. (Available free online)

The Commonwealth Fund/National Opinion Research Center Survey of Retiree Health Benefits, 2005: A Chartbook is available for download from the Commonwealth Fund.

While US life expectancy has grown, it is behind Japan and most of Europe, ranking 42nd globally (Kaiser Daily Health Policy Report). Reasons cited include lack of universal health coverage, racial and socioeconomic disparities, obesity, and a relatively high infant mortality rate.

Demand for long-term care is expected to explode as the baby boomer generation ages, but the system is already stretched and costs can mount quickly (Oxford Analytica via Forbes.com).

A Consumer Reports poll found that 67% of respondents were completely or very satisfied with their health insurance, up from 64% last year (Kaiser Daily Health Policy Report).

Rite of Passage? Why Young Adults Become Uninsured and How New Policies Can Help, a new issue brief from The Commonwealth Fund, explains why young adults are one of the largest segments of the US population without health insurance and outlines policies that could help.

For children whose health insurance doesn’t cover some vaccines, it might be better to have no insurance, according to a new study. The shots are available for free to children without insurance or who qualify for public insurance, but not to those with inadequate private insurance. (AP via Centre Daily Times)

Citation: Grace M. Lee, Jeanne M. Santoli, Claire Hannan, et al. (2007). Gaps in vaccine financing for underinsured children in the United States. JAMA 298:638-643. [Available online to Penn State faculty, students, and staff.]

What could have been a chance for Congress and the President to agree has instead turned into a debate on how to finance health care, according to the Christian Science Monitor. Legislation to renew the popular State Children’s Health Insurance Program (SCHIP) faces a veto from President Bush, who says the proposed Senate bill is an expansion of government health care that will encourage people to forgo private coverage. Bush instead favors reforming the tax code to make private health insurance more affordable.

NPR also covers the debate.

Change in Percentage of Families Offered Coverage at Work, 1998-2005, a new issue brief from the Kaiser Family Foundation, uses National Health Interview Survey (NHIS) data to assess changes in the percentage of families with at least one offer of employer-sponsored coverage.