Children with special health care needs—-including autism, ADHD, asthma—are not consistently getting the care recommended by the government, and the care and services they receive varies from state to state. Go here to see state-by-state details of the National Survey of Children with Special Health Care Needs. From the February 28th Science Daily:
The survey is especially significant because it finds that more than 10 million American children have a special health care need ? that amounts to one in five households with children younger than 18. [my emphasis] While states perform well in specific areas, no state is providing all of the recommended care to the majority of their children with special health care needs. …….
- While nearly all children with special health care needs have some type of health insurance, 3.3 million are underinsured. The health benefits packages for one-third of currently insured children with special health care needs do not adequately cover needed services or have reasonable co-pays.
- Only one-third of children with special needs who are Hispanic or who are living below the federal poverty level get coordinated and family-centered care from their health care providers.
- Out-of-pocket medical costs exceeded $1,000 for 1 in 5 children with special health care needs during 2005-06.
- Family members of nearly 2.5 million children with special health care needs had to cut back or stopped working because of their child?s health conditions.
Those last two points more than ring true for us.
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Tags: asd, asperger, autism, government, Health, medication, Parenting, pdd-nos, special needs, states, surveyShare This
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