Almost $13 Billion is Paid Out of Pocket for Children's Health Care

Press Release Date: April 4, 2001

Of a total of more than $62 billion spent on medical care for children under age 18 in 1996, $12.8 billion, or 20.5 percent, was paid out of pocket. Slightly more than half (55.0 percent) was paid for by private insurance and 19.4 percent was paid for by Medicaid. About 5 percent was paid by other sources.

This information was published in "Annual Report on Access to and Utilization of Health Care for Children and Youth in the United States—2000" in the January-February issue of Ambulatory Pediatrics.

The article shows data derived from the 1996 Medical Expenditure Panel Survey (MEPS) of the Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality. The article is available without charge from the AHRQ Publications Clearinghouse, P.O. Box 8547, Silver Spring, MD 20907; phone: (800) 358-9295. Request AHRQ Publication No. 01-R036.

Select to access a chart showing the percent distribution of source of payment for total health care expenses for children under 18, 1996 (PDF File, 7 KB; PDF Help).

Internet Citation:

Almost $13 Billion is Paid Out of Pocket for Children's Health Care. Press Release, April 4, 2001. Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality, Rockville, MD. http://www.ahrq.gov/news/press/pr2001/chpocket.htm