Review of Access and Quality of Care in SCHIP Using Standardized National Performance Measures

The State Children\u27s Health Insurance Program (SCHIP) has proven to be a critical addition to public coverage programs for low-income children since its inception ten years ago. Tracking the number of children enrolled, however, is only part of the story. This technical paper reviews access and quality for children enrolled in SCHIP by examining information on four primary and preventive care health measures submitted to the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services by states in their 2005 annual reports. The paper concludes that the data examined for this paper indicate that children enrolled in SCHIP are receiving not only coverage but care; the paper also suggests issues that require additional attention and discussion