Focusing on Unmet Medical Needs
While completing a fellowship in pediatric health services research, Leesha Hoilette, M.D., obtained her Master of Science degree in Health and Health Care Research at the University of Michigan. Hoilette recently joined the URMC Division of General Pediatrics. Her research focuses on medically underserved populations and primary care. She has found that from 1998 through 2006, the number of children enrolled in Medicaid and SCHIP increased. During the same time period, the proportion of uninsured children remained stable. However, the proportion of uninsured children with “no usual source of care” increased from 17.8 percent to 23.3 percent. Hispanic children had significant increases in the proportions of children without a usual source of care. Uninsured children and children without a usual source of care reported the highest odds of unmet medical need and among insured children, those publicly insured had twice the odds of reporting an unmet need compared with privately insured children.