Here’s what we can do to ensure more Michigan families have health coverage

A version of this column originally appeared in Michigan Advance.

This week, I joined with health advocates to talk about open enrollment and encourage residents to get covered. But that’s just one piece of the policy puzzle to help provide kids and parents with quality health insurance.

The Michigan League for Public Policy’s latest report, “Policy Strategies to Insure More Parents and Kids,” connects each of these pieces, family wellbeing and health, by exploring strategies Michigan policymakers should consider to increase children’s health insurance rates. Spoiler alert: the report highlights how improving rates among parents can help to bolster coverage among kids.

But what’s so important about health insurance coverage you might ask? Simply, health coverage, particularly in the U.S. context, helps people to obtain medical care without needing lots of money or special connections. Being able to get in the door to see a healthcare provider and having less fear about whether you can afford the cost of services allows people to receive necessary and routine care, which supports the overall management of their health. Moreover, health coverage, by way of regular access to preventive care and necessary health screenings and improving overall health, has been shown to improve job performance and school readiness.

Extensive research has shown that parent coverage, that is when a parent has active health insurance, has a positive impact on children. Insuring parents with low incomes tends to increase enrollment of Medicaid and Children’s Health Insurance Program (CHIP) eligible children with the result that fewer children go uninsured.

And even when comparing insured children, studies find that insured children whose parents also are insured are more likely to receive routine healthcare services, such as well-child visits, than insured children whose parents lack coverage. Plus, the benefits of parent coverage not only include the positive effect on kids but also include the tremendous impact on the health of parents themselves. Insured parents are better able to receive preventive care, treat health conditions when they emerge, and protect their family’s finances.

Health coverage facilitates people’s ability to obtain necessary physical, mental, and oral health care, which supports overall health while also protecting people from excessively high medical bills. Implementing policies that encourage greater uptake of health insurance coverage, particularly among parents in our state, will support positive outcomes for kids and their families.

To learn more, please explore the full report on ways our state can build on past successes in covering kids, reach the harder-to-reach and invest in parents’ health because doing so will improve the whole family unit.