Family Income and Child Health: Income, Insurance, and the Medical Management of Chronic Disease

Recent studies have focused on the positive association between family income and child health. Part of this relationship is explained by the increased frequency and higher morbidity of chronic medical conditions in poorer children. While previous studies have looked at some general reasons why this association may hold – parents’ education, insurance status, and health at birth to name a few – no complete explanation has been given for the effect of income on child health. I use the 1997 Medical Expenditure Panel Survey to examine the relationship between family income, insurance status, and chronic conditions in children and how these are associated with health care utilization. I find that while income is positively associated with some forms of utilization, there is no evidence of differential effects for chronically-ill children. Insurance status – defined as having private, public, or no insurance – does exhibit stronger associations with health care utilization for children with chronic conditions. I also present mixed evidence on the association between health care utilization and health outcomes. Jason E. Murasko Department of Economics MS-22 Rice University 6100 Main Street Houston, TX 77005-1892 Email: [email protected] I thank Peter Mieszkowski, Peter Hartley, and John Alford for their comments and suggestions. This research was supported with funds from Rice University.  2003 Jason E. Murasko, Economics Department, Rice University