Almost one in five children and youth have special health care needs, and over one third of these children and youth are covered by Medicaid. In this issue brief, we use data from the 2018 and 2019 National Survey of Children’s Health to examine differences in health status, access to care, referrals, needed care, and the cost of care between those covered by Medicaid, private insurance, both Medicaid and private insurance, and those without insurance.
Across all insurance types, these children experienced difficulties accessing the support, mental health care, and referred providers they needed. For example, over one fifth of families with children and youth with special health care needs reported needing additional help with coordination of their child’s health care in the past 12 months. There were also reported differences in access to and use of services between those covered by Medicaid and private insurance. Those covered by Medicaid were less likely than those with private insurance to have a primary care provider and a usual source of care for preventive or other health care needs and significantly more likely than those with private insurance to have had an emergency room visit or hospitalization in the past 12 months.