Health maintenance organizations and children with special health needs: a suitable match?

Article Abstract:

Health maintenance organizations (HMOs) may offer advantages over traditional fee-for-service programs for children with special health needs. In 1990, approximately 5% of the 13.5 million children privately insured through HMOs had a chronic health problem that limited their activities. A survey of services covered by 59 HMOs was compared with a survey of 150 traditional health insurance plans. HMOs were much more likely to protect families from out-of-pocket costs. HMOs were more likely to cover supporting care such as physical speech therapy, home health care and outpatient mental health care. Case management was a part of all HMOs, but only 25% of the traditional plans offered this feature. Despite the apparent benefits, the majority of HMOs surveyed restricted access to specialty services in some way, usually by stipulating that the patient's condition be expected to improve within a short period of treatment.

Care and treatment, Evaluation, Health maintenance organizations, Chronically ill children

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What will it take to fully protect all American children with vaccines? An update

Article Abstract:

A number of initiatives and programs developed in the 1990s may help to make full vaccination of American children a reality. Some of the barriers preventing full vaccination include the lack of a national tracking system, missed opportunities and unreasonable fear of side effects. Initiatives to remedy these problems include the formation of a group of well-known political figures called 'Every Child by Two,' a $9 million donation by the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation to develop model vaccination programs, formation of the Immunization Education and Action Committee, formation of the Children's Action Network, development of standards for child immunization, Congressional appropriation of almost $46 million for immunization among preschool children and direct involvement of Presidents Bush and Clinton.

Laws, regulations and rules, Children, Political aspects, Vaccination of children, Vaccination

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