Assessing the Value of Care for Low-income Children with Special Health Care Needs in California
To characterize the modifiable factors associated with healthcare utilization and costs by CSHCN, characterize the modifiable factors associated with quality of care for CSHCN, and identify policy-relevant action suggested by these observed patterns.
This project analyzed data from the California Children’s Services (CCS) program. It identified disproportionate costs from a small group of children and determined the types of health care services that were most responsible for those costs. The project also presented the first public data on the distribution of CCS eligible children by counties, and identified substantial variability in some quality-of-care indicators among counties. Recommendations for additional research and policy reforms were made. Subsequent to this project, continued analysis of data related to this population was supported by the California Health Care Foundation.