OBJECTIVES: To determine the proportion of infants who are uninsured and the sociodemographic characteristics of their mothers, including prenatal and post-partum insurance coverage, in order to identify strategies to increase infant health coverage.METHODS: Data from the 2001 California Maternal and Infant Health Assessment (MIHA) were analyzed. MIHA is a cross-sectional survey of a statewide representative sample of 3,475 postpartum women. We calculated the proportion of uninsured infants overall and by several maternal characteristics. Adjusted and unadjusted odds ratios for infant uninsurance are reported.RESULTS: In the overall study sample, 8.7% of infants were uninsured. Low-income infants were significantly more likely to be uninsured than infants in households with incomes above 200% of the federal poverty level (13.7% vs. 2.5%). The mother's prenatal and post-partum health coverage, her age, and family income were associated with an increased risk of infant uninsurance after adjustment for other maternal characteristics. A large majority of the uninsured infants (88.1%) were living in low-income families. The mothers of 60% of the uninsured infants were enrolled in Medicaid during the pregnancy.CONCLUSIONS: Approximately 14% of California's low-income infants were uninsured at the time of the survey despite being income-eligible for Medicaid. The proportion of uninsured infants could potentially be reduced by more than one-half through strategies to provide 12 month continuous enrollment of infants with federally mandated Medicaid eligibility for the first year of life.
Adolescent Adult