Children of Low Income Farm Workers Less Likely to Have Health Insurance

A recent study published by the Archives of Pediatrics & Adolescent Medicine found that children of U.S. farm workers are three times more likely than other children and almost twice as likely as other poor youngsters to have no health insurance coverage.

There were several variables that made health insurance coverage less likely – one of which was low income. Health insurance coverage incidence also decreased if the parents were older, has less education, spent little time in the U.S. and resided in the Southeast or Southwest.

This lack of health insurance is especially significant when you consider that farm workers' children often perform dangerous work themselves and are exposes to many hazards like pesticides. Data from the survey found that 32 percent of the parents reported their children were uninsured, including 45 percent of migrant worker parents. Related Links
Medline Plus: Children of U.S. Farmworkers Often Uninsured