Special needs children costs vary by state

ST. LOUIS, Dec. 8 (UPI) -- For a low-income family with higher medical bills because of a special needs child, the state in which they live can make the difference, U.S. researchers say.

Paul T. Shattuck, a professor of social work at Washington University in St. Louis says low-income families spend a disproportionally large share of their income on their child's care.

"The percentage of low-income families in a given state with out-of-pocket expenses that exceeded 3 percent of their income varied considerably according to state, Shattuck said in a statement.

"Families living in states with more generous Medicaid and State Children's Health Insurance Program benefits report less financial burden."

Shattuck and lead author Susan Parish, a professor of social work at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, also found that:

-- Among all low-income families, 61 percent report having some out-of-pocket healthcare costs for caring for their children with special needs.

-- Overall, 27 percent of low-income families who reported any out-of-pocket costs had a financial burden that exceeded 3 percent of their total household income for the year. Twenty-five percent report spending more than 5 percent of their income.

-- The percentage of low-income families who have out-of-pocket costs for caring for a special needs child varies greatly -- from 33.5 percent in the District of Columbia to 84.4 percent in Utah.

The findings are published in the journal Pediatrics -- data for each state is available at: http://news-info.wustl.edu/pdf/Shattucktable.pdf.