Federally Funded Health Services

According to recent reports, two-thirds of uninsured pregnant women fail to receive adequate prenatal care. Among children, 40 percent lack basic childhood vaccinations, 25 percent do not see a doctor even once a year, and 31 percent in low-income families lack coverage under either private or public health insurance. This fact sheet provides information on services, eligibility, and program interrelationships for seven programs that fund health care services for low-income women and children. GAO discusses federal and state responsibilities for administration, funding, target populations, program goals, numbers of people served, and services authorized. GAO also examines requirements for interprogram coordination and identifies cases in which such coordination did or did not take place.

GAO found that: (1) all seven programs are authorized to serve the health care needs of low-income women, children, or both, but each program targets a slightly different population, and the services available under each program vary; (2) the extent to which authorized services are available depends on several factors, including resource limitations, services authorized as optional, and discretionary services; (3) all seven programs permit the use of program funds for specific services that are not expressly health care services, such as transportation assistance for the purpose of receiving medical care as a reimbursable service, or information about provider availability; (4) each of the seven programs has federal laws, regulations, or guidelines which coordinate with other specifically designated programs or with unspecified related federal health programs and activities; and (5) legislation and oversight responsibilities for the seven programs are vested in so many institutions and other entities that coordination is complex and difficult.