Trends in Disparities in Low-Income Children's Health Insurance Coverage and Access to Care by Family Immigration Status

Abstract Objective To examine time trends in disparities in low-income children's health insurance coverage and access to care by family immigration status. Methods We used data from the National Survey of Children's Health in 2003 to 2011–2012, including 83,612 children aged 0 to 17 years with family incomes Results All low-income children experienced gains in health insurance coverage and access to care from 2003 to 2011–2012, regardless of family immigration status. Relative to citizen children with nonimmigrant parents, citizen children with immigrant parents had a 5 percentage point greater increase in health insurance coverage ( P = .06), a 9 percentage point greater increase in having a personal doctor or nurse ( P P P P Conclusions Some disparities in access to care related to family immigration status have lessened over time among children in low-income families, although large disparities still exist. Policy efforts are needed to ensure that children of immigrant parents and immigrant children are able to access health insurance and health care.