Whereas in America health insurance is a very big issue, in the UK not much is heard about families struggling to take out a cover for themselves or their little ones. This is, of course, because the NHS is taking the pains off most people. Except in some very extreme cases where people have been forced to opt for private medical insurance in order to gain faster access to medical help, or to escape the superbug scare, many still count on the NHS to do the healthcare magic.

In America the clear implication is that health insurance coverage is an essential need. The fact that its importance cannot be overemphasised, perhaps, informed the strong focus of this year’s presidential campaigns by rivals Barack Obama of the Democratic Party and Republican John McCain healthcare. Between the options they put on the table for voters, therefore, many would have to make a choice as they elect a new leader for the most powerful country in the world.

Just a few days to the elections reports coming from the country depict the frustrations of many families as they helplessly watch their children excluded from the healthcare system they’re unable afford paying for. In a study from the Medical Expenditure Panel Survey which pooled data from 2002 to 2005, it was found that even in homes where at least one parent had health insurance children were not likely to be covered.  Report of the survey, which was published recently in The Journal of American Medical Association, further revealed that children from low income and middle class homes were the ones most affected.

The study had a national coverage and covered records of 39,588 children and teenagers. Its findings also showed that 3.3 per cent of children and teenagers were not uninsured and that many had one insured parent.

Common features of children without health coverage

A breakdown of the survey details revealed that children that were uninsured but one of the parents was insured had a number of features common to them. These features include being from low income and middle class homes, having parents with less than a high school education, from a Hispanic ethnic background, from single parent households and most likely geographically resident in the south or west and having a parent with private insurance.

On the contrary those whose parents had public health coverage were 36 per cent less likely to be uninsured than whose parents had private insurance, said the report.

The fact that children, as vulnerable as they are, lack a basic need in the form of health coverage raises a number of questions for politicians and policy makers. While parents can afford to pay their own health insurance many families complained that the cost of ensuring their children enjoy similar coverage was far too much for them to afford.

However, the government still says it pumps a lot of many, running up to billions of dollars to ensure that children from low income homes get health insurance coverage.

But the size of America and variation in rules from one state to another affect the eligibility criteria.

A way out this crisis, as suggested by the report, is to introduce new rules that would guarantee health insurance coverage for all family members. This would ensure no child is left uncovered.

Neither Democrat Obama nor Republican McCain’s healthcare proposal would make much meaning to those affected unless either of the policies proposes to ease the burden of families struggling to meet health insurance bills.