Few people would disagree that children with disabilities need adequate health insurance. But what kind of health insurance coverage would be optimal for these children? Peter Szilagyi surveys the current state of insurance coverage for children with special health care needs and examines critical aspects of coverage with an eye to helping policy…

All children, even the healthiest, have preventive and acute health care needs. Moreover, a growing number of children are chronically ill, with preventive, acute, and ongoing care needs that may be much more demanding than those for healthy children. Because children are unable to care for themselves, their parents are expected to provide a range…

Although most Americans know that the U.S. population is aging, they are far less informed about the reality of providing elders with personal care, health care, and social support. Families--particularly women--have always been critical in providing elder care, but the entry of so many women into the paid labor force has made elder care…

In this paper, the author points out that youth with mental disorders make up a significant subgroup of youth who appear in U.S. juvenile courts. And he notes that juvenile justice systems today are struggling to determine how best to respond to those youths' needs, both to safeguard their own welfare and to reduce re-offending and its…

Summarizes health care approaches to identifying and treating child and adult victims of domestic violence. Describes innovative programs that tie children's well-being to that of their mothers and proposes strategies for improving current health care system responses. (SLD)

Reviews the changes managed health care has brought to the delivery and use of medical services and recommends specific steps that will make the existing system more responsive to the needs of children. Systemwide health care reforms must give children stable medical care that emphasizes preventive health and developmental services. (SLD)

Lays the foundation for other articles in this special issue by providing an overview of managed health care as it now operates. Children are increasingly being enrolled in such plans even though there is little information about the effects of managed health care on this population. (SLD)

Reviews what is known about the effect of managed care on access to health services, as well as utilization of hospital care, emergency department visits, primary care services, and specialty pediatric services. The effect of managed care appears dependent on several factors and, thus, is likely to vary according to the population served. (SLD)

Information available so far indicates that children in managed care arrangements are less likely to be seen by pediatric specialists and that families and providers are less satisfied under managed care. In spite of these drawbacks, the managed care approach, modified appropriately, offers new opportunities to provide high-quality medical care…

Summarizes efforts by state governments to regulate managed care and examines the various actions that states have initiated to credential managed care plans that desire to provide care for Medicaid beneficiaries. In the long run, organizations other than state regulatory agencies may be better equipped to regulate managed care. (SLD)

Recently states have increasingly turned to managed care arrangements to finance and deliver health services to Medicaid beneficiaries. As this trend continues, states should carefully monitor changes in program costs and quality and implications for delivery of pediatric services and health outcomes for children. (SLD)

Presents recommendations for contracting elements that should be adopted by state Medicaid agencies and approaches that should be taken by managed care practices interested in providing high-quality care for children with special needs. These recommendations are based on interviews with administrators from 29 states and 22 plans. (SLD)

Preliminary results from the Health Care Reform Tracking Project's baseline survey and site visits to 10 states show that managed care has generally improved access to health care for children, but it has made it more difficult for youths with serious emotional disorders, and uninsured children, to obtain care. (SLD)

Presents the perspectives of a parent and a pediatrician on managed health care for children. The parent's experience in obtaining care for her disabled child demonstrates many pitfalls in the system. The pediatrician stresses that advocacy for child health should promote child health through managed care, rather than protect children from managed…

Reviews the basic decisions states must make when implementing State Children's Health Insurance Program (CHIP) programs and reports on the decisions states participating in this federal program have made, as reflected in the plans they submitted to the Health Care Financing Administration. Sources of information about the program are included.…