Georgetown University Center for Children and Families researchers analyzed health insurance data from the Census Bureau’s annual American Community Survey to get a closer look at children’s coverage trends. The authors found that the nation continues to make steady progress covering children, despite no reduction in the number of children living in poverty. A strong commitment to children’s health coverage through Medicaid and CHIP and the protection of children’s eligibility levels by the ACA helped decrease the number of uninsured children to 5.5 million in 2011 from 6.4 million in 2009. Half of all uninsured children live in just six states – Texas, California, Florida, Georgia, Arizona and New York. Nevada continued to have the highest rate of uninsured kids in the country, as Massachusetts maintained its lead with the lowest rate. As states continue moving forward over the next year, full implementation of the ACA provides the next opportunity to make substantial progress for children’s coverage.
Other versions of the report on uninsured children were published in October 2016, October 2015, November 2014, and November 2013.
