Many Medicaid Children with Lead Poisoning Do Not Receive Follow-Up Tests, Study Says

Main Category: Pediatrics / Children's Health
Article Date: 13 May 2005 - 5:00 PDT

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About 46% of children enrolled in Medicaid whose blood tests showed levels of lead that could harm mental function did not have follow-up testing, according to a study published in Wednesday's... Journal of the American Medical Association, the AP/Detroit Free Press reports. The study involved 3,682 children enrolled in the Michigan Medicaid program. About 54% of the children had follow-up screenings needed to assess whether initial blood-lead levels had changed. Follow-up testing "typically precedes treatment," according to the AP/Free Press. Alex Kemper, lead author of the study and an assistant pediatrics professor at the University of Michigan, said children in Medicaid are at increased risk for lead poisoning because they are more likely to live in older homes that were built before lead-based paint was made illegal or in industrial areas near lead sources. Minorities and urban residents, who have other risk factors for lead exposure, were the most likely not to receive follow-up testing, according to the study. Kemper said children enrolled in Medicaid do not receive appropriate follow-up care in part because of a failure to notify parents when their children have elevated lead levels; parents who do not know that they should seek additional screenings; and doctors who do not pursue additional screenings because they believe the parents will not be able to afford remedies, such as paint removal. Kemper said similar results likely will be found among Medicaid beneficiaries in other states (Tanner, AP/Detroit Free Press, 5/11).

The study is available online.

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