August 2004

Access to Children's Mental Health Services Under Medicaid and SCHIP

At least one-tenth of children suffer from a serious mental health problem that causes impairment (U.S. Public Health Service 2000). Because parents and providers are often reluctant to label a child with a specific diagnosis, the general term serious emotional disturbance (SED) is commonly used for severe problems. Poor children have more mental health problems than other children (Costello et al. 2003). Since more low-income children are now eligible for public health insurance through the Medicaid "poverty expansions" and the new State Children's Health Insurance Program (SCHIP), half of all children are potentially eligible for public health insurance coverage (Dubay, Haley, and Kenney 2002). Consequently, such programs play a critical role in ensuring access to child mental health services.