1 in 3 Bucks Children Overweight or Obese, Barriers to Health Care for Some Children
PHILADELPHIA, PA (February 5th, 2013) – PCCY’s latest report “The Bottom Line is Children: Children’s Health Status in Bucks County” finds that Bucks County has done a great job of providing access to health insurance for nearly all of its children, however 3,377 children remain uninsured.
Some good news from the report:
- The share of children without health insurance decreased by 24%- the largest drop in the region, however, 3,377 children are still uninsured. 98% of Bucks County children are insured.
- Bucks County had the largest drop in teen births in the region- a 31% decreased
- The number of asthma hospitalizations in Bucks County decreased 26%.
The report also identified these troubling trends:
- One in three Bucks County children are overweight or obese, a jump of 4,089 children (17%) in the last five years.
- Bucks County is the only suburban county where the infant mortality rate increased (from 4.1 to 5.6 infants per 1,000 live births).
- The share of babies born at low birth weight increased nearly 8% from 2007 to 2011.
“Research proves healthy children are more likely to grow up to become healthy, successful adults. Better childhood health is linked to improved educational attainment, better employment opportunities and higher income in adulthood,” according to a study from the Robert Wood Foundation.
“Bucks County has done a great job of getting kids health insurance, but there is some room for improvement,” said Colleen McCauley, Health Director for PCCY. “County officials should look at ways to get the remaining 3,300 children covered.”
One factor that may be contributing to children’s lack of health insurance is the number of Bucks County children without qualifying immigration status. Every child in Pennsylvania is eligible for Medical Assistance or CHIP except children who are undocumented. In Bucks County, there are approximately 1,426 children who are undocumented and uninsured. Bucks County is not alone. Across the suburban Counties, there are nearly 20,000 children who are uninsured. More than a quarter (5,692) are undocumented and do not have access to health insurance.
“Regardless of how a child got here, they should be allowed to see a doctor when they’re sick,” said Denise Centeno, from St. Mary Children’s Health Center in Bensalem. “Children should not be denied medical care for any reason, including their immigration status.”
In Bucks County, there are 28,865 children- about one in three, who are overweight or obese. The number of children who became overweight or obese rose 17% over the last five years. Childhood obesity is not just contained to Bucks County. Combined there are more than 114,000 children in Bucks, Chester, Delaware and Montgomery County who are overweight or obese. In Bucks County, PCCY’s report shows disparities persisted between children of different races and ethnicities.
“While we have done a good job in improving in some areas, childhood obesity is a serious problem in the County,” said Dr. David Damsker, Director of the Bucks County Health Department. “We need to work harder to reduce the number of overweight and obese children, especially those in low-income communities.”
Problems with childhood obesity and access to care are not just unique to Bucks County. . Likewise, more than 114,000 children in the suburban counties are overweight or obese. Among those children, disparities persist between children of different ethnicities and insurance statuses.
To improve overall child health in Bucks County, PCCY recommends that officials:
- Launch a county-wide campaign to get every eligible child health insurance
- Push the Commonwealth to remove the barrier to health coverage faced by undocumented children
- Encourage the State Department of Public Welfare to increase the quality of provider networks where necessary and improve efforts to reduce the incidence of obesity among the children served by the Medicaid Managed Care companies
- Improve county reporting on children without dental insurance and the number of children diagnosed and receiving treatment for behavioral health conditions
- Identify new funds to test and remediate homes and eliminate childhood lead poisoning
PCCY’s report, “The Bottom Line is Children: Children’s Health Status in Bucks County,” is the latest in a four-part series looking at issues affecting children in each of Philadelphia’s suburban counties. PCCY’s previous reports on education and family economic security can be viewed at www.childrenfirstpa.org/bottomlinecountyreports
The full report “The Bottom Line is Children: Children’s Health Status in Bucks County” can be viewed online at www.childrenfirstpa.org/userfiles/file/BottomLineCountyReports/Bucks/Health/PCCYBLHealthBucksCo2014.pdf