Family characteristics and health insurance coverage of Hispanic children in the U.S.

The authors use the March 1993 Current Population Survey to examine the effects of demographic family and parental work characteristics on insurance coverage of Hispanic children residing in the US. Using a multinomial logit approach the authors estimate the odds of a child being covered by either private insurance or Medicaid. Study results show that both the presence and type of insurance coverage vary substantially by origin group residence family structure family life cycle poverty status education of the family head and parental work status. Net of other factors children with at least one parent who worked full-time were about twice as likely as other children to be privately insured. Nevertheless a substantial proportion of Hispanic children with a working parent or even two working parents remains uninsured. (authors)