Lucy A. Bilaver

The Health of Children in Foster Care

Using Medicaid claims data, we compare the health service use and the prevalence of reported conditions among three groups of Medicaid‐eligible Illinois children: those receiving Aid to Families with Dependent Children (AFDC) who do not enter foster care, those receiving AFDC who subsequently enter foster care, and children in foster care. We find that the two groups of children receiving AFDC differed in their health service use and reported conditions. Once in foster care, children used more health services than children receiving AFDC. Children in kinship foster care also had similar patterns of service use and reported conditions.

Socioeconomic Disparities in the Economic Impact of Childhood Food Allergy

OBJECTIVES: We compared direct medical costs borne by the health care system and out-of-pocket costs borne by families for children with food allergy by socioeconomic characteristics. METHODS: We analyzed cross-sectional survey data collected between November 2011 and January 2012 from 1643 US caregivers with a food-allergic child. We used a 2-part regression model to estimate mean costs and identified differences by levels of household income and race or ethnicity. RESULTS: Children in the lowest income stratum incurred 2.5 times the amount of emergency department and hospitalization costs as a result of their food allergy than higher-income children (

Impact of State Mental Health Parity Laws on Access to Autism Services

1021, SE ±

Global perceptions of food allergy thresholds in 16 countries.

209, vs

Prevalence and Correlates of Educational Intervention Utilization among Children with Autism Spectrum Disorder.

416, SE ±

Foster Children With Autism Spectrum Disorder: Prevalence, Length of Stay, and Placement Patterns

94; P < .05). Costs incurred for specialist visits were lower in the lowest income group (

The Economic Impact of Childhood Food Allergy in the United States

228, SE ±

Improving access to health care for foster children: The illinois model

21) compared with the highest income group (

Expanded medical home model works for children in foster care.

311, SE ±

The High Economic Burden of Childhood Food Allergy in the United States

18; P < .01) as was spending on out-of-pocket medication costs (