Using data obtained from a National Center for Health Statistics Household Health Survey, a model for children's medical care utilization was tested. The variables included in the model were need, physician supply, family preference, and family disposable income. The first question addressed was the income effect on children's visits to physicians. Most of the apparent effect of income on children's visits to the physician can be attributed to the number of children in the family and the education of the male and female heads. The income effect is not completely accounted for, however. It may be that the price of medical care is such that it constrains utilization except at the very highest income levels. The second question was the effect of other parts of the model on children's visits to the physician. The analysis suggested that need--as indicated by the age of the child--and family preferences had the largest effects on children's medical care utilization. This analysis brings into question the direct effect of poverty on health care, an assumption of policies to increase health care for the poor. It suggests that the less frequent utilization of physicians by lower income persons is largely due to their lesser preference for that care. (Author/JM)