Summary: About 12 million American children are not receiving basic preventive health care, such as regular physical examinations or childhood immunizations. GAO looked at how five countries with universal health insurance--England, France, Germany, Japan, and the Netherlands--deliver preventive health care to children. GAO found that they do not rely solely on systems of universal coverage to ensure that children receive services. Instead, they may (1) notify health authorities of new births, which initiates the monitoring and the providing of preventive health services; (2) stress the importance of regular care by targeting new parents for home visits, by providing booklets for maintaining a child's health record, and by conducting information campaigns; (3) provide convenient access to physical examinations by making them available in schools; and (4) facilitate the continuity of care through computer tracking. Before adopting any of these special measures, the United States should study them carefully, given the current limited knowledge of their cost and their real health consequences.
