Objective: The Covering Kids and Families (CKF) program seeks to expand health insurance coverage for children by supporting community-based outreach and enrollment. For the evaluation of CKF, researchers conducted focus groups to explore parents' experiences accessing health care for their children, and to assess whether these experiences affected decisions to enroll their children in Medicaid or the State Children's Health Insurance Program (SCHIP).

Methods: In May and June 2003, 13 focus groups were conducted in 5 cities--Everett, MA; Denver, CO; Los Angeles, CA; Mena, AR; and San Antonio, TX. In each community, groups were conducted with parents of children insured under Medicaid or SCHIP and parents of uninsured children. Three groups were conducted with Spanish-speaking parents in two communities--Denver and Los Angeles.

Results: Access to primary care was considered good by most parents with children in Medicaid and SCHIP. Among parents of uninsured children, there was more variation in perceptions of access to care. For parents of both uninsured and insured children, access to dentists and specialists was more problematic. Spanish-speaking families reported numerous barriers to care due to language differences and perceived discrimination. All focus group participants said that they placed great value on health insurance.

Conclusion: Even when parents encountered problems accessing care, very few indicated that this discouraged them from enrolling their children into Medicaid or SCHIP, or from renewing their children's public coverage.