Child and Family Health Facts

While most children and families have health care coverage, a large number remain uninsured. 1

• In 2006, 88% of children and 80% of adults had health care coverage, most through an employer.
  
  
• At the same time, 9.4 million children under age 19 and 37 million adults (including 11.6 million parents) were uninsured.

Health coverage is vital to healthy development.

• Children who are uninsured are more likely to go without immunizations and other important services, miss school because of untreated illness, and end up in the emergency room for preventable conditions. 2
  
  
• Coverage is important to adults as well, helping them get timely medical care and improving their long-term health outcomes. 3

Families are discovering it harder to find and pay for health coverage. 4

• In 2007, the cost of health insurance rose 6.1%, while workers’ earnings increased only 3.7%.
  
  
• Since 2000, the percentage of employers that offer health coverage has dropped by 9 percentage points, with smaller firms, firms that employ more low-wage workers, and those with a greater number of part-time staff less likely to offer coverage.

Public programs play a critical role, especially for children.

• In 2006, 26.6% percent of children received health coverage through Medicaid or the State Children’s Health Coverage Program (SCHIP). 5
  
  
• On a smaller scale, approximately 11% of adults and 10% of parents received coverage through public programs. 6
  
  
• Of all uninsured children, almost 70%, or 7 in 10, are eligible for Medicaid or SCHIP. 7

For more information see:

About Medicaid and SCHIP
Facts and Statistics

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Footnotes

1. Kaiser Family Foundation, "Health Insurance Coverage in America: 2006 Data Update," (October 2007). Back

2. P. Newacheck, J. Stoddard, D. Hughes, & M. Pearl, "Health Insurance and Access to Primary Care for Children," New England Journal of Medicine, 338: 513-519 (1998); L. Olson, S. Tang, & P. Newacheck, "Children in the United States with Discontinuous Health Insurance," New England Journal of Medicine, 353: 382-391 (2005); G. Stevens, M. Seid, & N. Halfon, "Enrolling Vulnerable, Uninsured, but Eligible Children in Public Health Insurance: Association with Health Status and Primary Care Access," Pediatrics, 117: 751-759 (2006); W. Johnson & M. Rimsza, "The Effects of Access to Pediatric Care and Insurance Coverage on Emergency Department Utilization," Pediatrics, 113: 483-487 (2004); and Institute of Medicine (2002), "Health Insurance is a Family Matter," Washington, DC: The National Academies Press. Back

3. R. B. Bovbjerg & J. Hadley, "Health Policy Briefs: Why Health Insurance Is Important," The Urban Institute, (November 2007); J. Hadley, "Sicker and Poorer," Medical Research and Review, 60(2): 3S-75S (2002). Back

4. The Kaiser Family Foundation & Health Research and Educational Trust, "Employer Health Benefits: 2007 Annual Survey," (September 2007). Back

5. op. cit. (1) Back

6. op. cit. (1) Back

7. Analysis of March 2005 Current Population Survey using July 2004 state eligibility rules by L. Dubay, Urban Institute. Back