A new Commonwealth Fund Health Care Opinion Leaders survey of leaders in health policy and health care finds that a majority believes the State Children’s Health Insurance Program has been successful in increasing access to health care for low-income children (71%) and in reducing the rate of uninsured, low-income children (65%).
Across the board, the survey respondents believe that coverage should be expanded. In fact, 91% of respondents think SCHIP should be made available to legal immigrant children whose families meet income requirements. Eighty-two percent favor allowing families with higher incomes to buy into SCHIP, and 80% believe that states should be allowed to extend coverage to parents of children covered by SCHIP in states where there is no comprehensive coverage for the uninsured.
Respondents also support provisions that would help provide high-quality health care for all children. Four out of five (81%) were in favor of establishing federal performance standards and outcome measures for all children in SCHIP, and 69% favored measuring and reporting on the frequency and quality of developmental screening.
